Images(4)

Babel Vessel I

DesignerDesigned by Michael Eden (Blackburn, England, born 1955)

Date2010

Object NameVessel

Mediumnylon with mineral soft-coating

ClassificationsCeramics

DimensionsHeight: 36.5cm
Diameter: 20cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 2013 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

LocationOn Display - Gallery 05

Object numberABDAG011432

Keywords

About MeThe Babel Vessel combines an actual experience with a virtual one by enabling the object to connect to the internet through mobile phone technology. When the Quick Response (QR) barcode design on the top of the vessel is scanned by a barcode reader (available as an app on some mobile phones) it links to a page on the artist’s web-site.

Eden used Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software to extend the two-dimensional barcode image into a three-dimensional object. This form was given the shape of a Chinese sacrificial wine vessel or hu. On a visit to the British Museum, Eden noticed that the surface decoration of a 6th-century B.C. hu reminded him of the QR barcodes. When translated, the Chinese symbols decorating the hu tell of heroic deeds by emperors. Like the QR code, these symbols require a translator to read them.

More About Me

Collections Wall

The vessel is covered in QR barcodes in an attempt to connect the real life with the virtual one.

Exhibitions

Gallery 05 - Crafting Colour