Oscar McNaughton

Ceramics and 3D printed resin

Oscar McNaughton’s project follows a process of scanning broken ceramic objects to be transformed and transfigured in a statement about repair. By replacing the broken portions with complex 3D printed cellular structures, the project challenges our perceptions about what it means to be damaged.

The pieces show that an object can not only continue to be beautiful or interesting after it has been damaged, but also shows how damage creates opportunity.  In this sense the work speaks out not only about the importance of repair, but the opportunities that going through a difficult or damaging period can have to improve something. In a physical sense this applies to things that some throw away, deeming them useless, but also translates to a more symbolic meaning in terms of emotional scars, character building, and the way that we can use periods of difficulty as an opportunity for development. 

The process of making involves 3D scanning broken objects and then using these scans as the base to create complex cellular structures. These structures are made using a custom algorithm that effectively ‘grows’ replacement forms. These new forms are based on a range of microscopic systems such a bone callus which forms at the site of a bone break, as well as scar tissue and plant cell repair systems. 

Some pieces also feature portions that have also been repaired using traditional Kintsugi. This process uses sap of the Chinese lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum), to repair ceramic, to which a layer of fine powder, usually gold, is then added to highlight the repair.  

Instagram: @madebyosc