This massive bench now on display at the Industry Gallery in Washington, D.C. stretches over the warehouse space like an oversized coiled snake. Incredibly, the sculpture — called "Spun" — weighs just under ten pounds thanks to a unique carbon fiber construction process.
Artist Mathias Bengtsson has been working with a process that spins carbon fiber into a thread. The technique — used by NASA to create rocket fuel tanks and nozzles — allows for the thread to be flexible enough to be bent and curved based into designs. After the thread is spun it is cured in a kiln and then wrapped around upon itself so that the entire structure is actually just one thread.
The curving lines seen in the photos are actually the six pieces that Bengtsson first designed via computer graphics; this allows the modern structure to take on different shapes depending upon the space.
Despite the pieces all being made from one strand of carbon fiber thread wound around itself, the structure is incredibly strong but with much less mass. In fact, only a fifth of the surface area is from the fiber.
The carbon fiber thread sculpture challenges the way we normally think of carbon fiber — a substance that is made into sheets or tubes for the likes of bikes, cars andStormtrooper armor.
Bengtsson has worked with this medium for a few years in order to perfect the technique. In addition to the giant bench, he has also created chairs from the same materials. The sculpture series was first commissioned by Future City and the St. James Group in London; it is currently on display in Washington, DC through the end of June.
Bengtsson Design, via Gizmodo
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