The Problem
Design a mounting system for a series of cast sugar skulls made to dissolve slowly over the course of an exhibition.
Challenges
Keep heavy and unwieldy skulls from shifting on the mount as they melt
Solve for an unknown set of melting variables
Achieve an angle with the mount design so drips roll down the wall not just to the floor
Gallery lighting angles
HVAC exposure and visitor body heat
Melting must be slow enough to not exhaust a minimal backup skull supply
Mounts must be consistent with existing museum design language
Skulls must be firmly attached to mount so visitors cannot move or re-move them with touch
Prototyping
Initial sketches
Some initial concepts to work through with my team
A hinged model
Helped find the ideal mounting angle to facilitate the perfect drips
Final design
Several iterations led to this simple solution. The open back and minimal 2-peg support allowed the maximum possible drip-to-wall scenario.
Production Mode
With the major structural variables solved for, the mount needed to be precisely reproduced 12 more times to accommodate the entire series of skulls.
Installation
Subtle Architecture
The identical open back mounts created a unifying visual system without detracting from the piece - like bridge trusses without the cables.
Considering Stability
Each of the 12 sugar skulls had different balances and weights, and those variables would continue to evolve and shift as the skulls melted into nothing. Any shift while melting could potentially disrupt the painterly effect the artist was looking for on the wall.
To solve this I used 2 pegs to support the weight, and monofilament anchoring the skull to the mount at the top. This limited side-to-side shifting, and would allow the skull to further anchor into the pegs as it softened. Simple, solid, effective.
Critical Meltdown
A critical part of the artistic intent was to have drips run down the wall before pooling onto the floor. By utilizing an open back and steep undercut - the melting sugar was able to find the wall easily.
Conclusion
This was a challenging and fun project to work on. My team and I created an effective solution to a number of complex variables. The mounts fulfilled their intent by providing controlled structure for a morphing and dissolving art piece.
By the end of the exhibition, the skulls dissolved away into abstraction, beautiful drips stained the walls and pools of glassy sugar collected on the floor. The mounts also achieved an aesthetic function on their own - creating an elegant architecture element on the wall.