Sophie Kahn is a contemporary sculptor based in Melbourne, Australia, with a background in Photography. Her work primarily focuses on the concept of the human body and it’s clash with technology; specifically, the ways in which technology (and 3D scanners) cannot capture the human body while it is in motion.
Using a hand-held 3D laser scanner meant for capturing still, lifeless objects with extreme precision, Kahn generates sculptures of the human form as it moves – since human bodies are constantly in motion – and thus creates erroneous “glitched” coordinates generated by the scanner’s sensors. Much of her work is based on the result of these scans; the pieces of the subject are wonderfully broken, the forms taking shape as floating islands, barely representing that which it was based off of. Her works are surreal and emotive, capturing parts and pieces of what we almost recognize as human.
Kahn herself says that her scanner “strips the life from the body”, and gives the impression of age, decay, and a serene eeriness.
Kahn’s work is very much so a commentary, albeit not an obnoxious or obvious one, on the ways in which our bodies interact with, are captured by, and are exploited by technology – or, rather, how other humans will use technology to collect information about individuals. This is a very contemporary subject, and a unique response; the work that Kahn creates is hauntingly beautiful, as a result of the technology she uses. Not only is a reflection on the current state and role of technology in our lives, but it represents potential, and the need for growth to ever accommodate the human form.
It’s interesting to see how her work has evolved, and taken various shapes and forms. She calls her initial works “Structural Death Masks”, utilizing 3D printing and the forms generated from her scanner. She then moves onto casting these forms, Many of her works are physical sculptures, but some are renders, and others are prints.
In this video, Sophie Kahn presents a series of scans that have a range of motion done during the time of the scan. Some are very limited, with only small variations in the scan due to breathing, and others are slightly more distorted. She attributes this to her “misuse of the high-end 3d laser scanner, which was never designed to capture the body.” Kahn wanted to subvert the scifi dystopian trope of a Government having vast amounts of personal data for their people, to the point where they have those spin-around 3D models of each and every citizen.
Part of Kahn’s inspiration for her works is the theme of the “digitization” of our individual identities.
Kahn says that these renders “Tell you virtually nothing about the people who are in them; the data tells you nothing.”
In this piece, entitled “Machines for Suffering V”, Kahn uses a 3D print, combined with Gesso and Acrylic to create striking contrast between the figure and it’s support systems. The figure was captured in a similar method as the rest of Kahn’s work, built and fragmented by an ill-fitting 3D scanner.
This is the corresponding print for “Machines for Suffering V”.
Kahn co-founded Aurate, a jewelry company based out of New York City.
Sources:
https://www.sophiekahn.net/
https://anti-utopias.com/art/sophie-kahn-fragmented-bodies/