Sculpture Manchester 2004 - 2009

Walk the Plank 2004-9:

Up until 1999 peter had been working as a pyrotechnician and maker for Theatre Of Fire a company based in Sheffield and Dublin.

Peter began working with a company called Walk the Plank after the unfortunate death of the artists close friend and founder of Theatre of fire.

Peter moved to Manchester in 2003 to work consistently along side Walk the Plank as a pyrotechnician and sculptor.

Between 2003 and the present day he has developed into their primary designer and constructor of street theatre shows, site specific events, sculptural bonfires and other specialised pyrotechnical events throughout the UK, Europe and Asia.

Peter is presently Associate Designer of Walk the Plank.

Research:

As well as working as a free-lance pyrotechnician and designer Peter is researching at Salford University into digital sculpting.

With assistance from the Arts Council and the University Peter became artist in residence with the Centre for Virtual Environments in 2006.

The research encompassed:

- Familiarisation with computer gaming software for visualisation purposes.
- Hands on experience laser scanning equipment.
- Attending demonstrations and symposiums in Rapid Prototyping.
- Learning and using 3d engineering software.
- Gaining knowledge in 3D printing.
- Blending aspects of CAD and CAM within a format suitable for sculpture construction.
- Applying all the knowledge gained to make new work.

In 2007 Peter had the opportunity to utilise his new digital sculpting skills in a new commission for an Art Car Parade commissioned by Walk The Plank.
The commission was visualised developed and manufactured using digital techniques throughout.

Peter is still researching at the University of Salford and will be exhibiting at the Chapman Gallery in 2010.

He is presently visualising new sculptures as digital sketches and animations to select for possible manufacture for this forthcoming exhibition.
Please visit “What’s New” for the latest developments

Art Car Parade:

'Black Cab' was manufactured for an Art Car Parade in 2007.
It was the culmination of research between 2005 and 2007.

A full size london taxi was found on e-bay.
The complete taxi body was laser scanned to obtain point cloud data in order to generate a water tight 3D mesh model.

The original body was then lifted from the chassis and discarded.

Working alongside Liverpool Museums Conservation Centre the mesh model was cleaned up and edited.

A series of cross-sections were then extracted and used as patterns to form a grid of interlockable slotted panels.

The panels were then cut from reinforced plastic sheeting on a CNC vibrating knife bed.

All the components were assembled and placed on the taxi original taxi chassis.

Upon completion, it was driven through the streets of Manchester, as a work of art.

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