Projections, 2012

Shadow object, 70 × 70 × 40 mm

Digital realisation by Computer Graphics and Geometry Laboratory, Prof. Mark Pauly, EPFL

This object was developed in reference to research on the multiple and often contradictory facets and descriptions attributed to the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) throughout times and cultures. A breed between duck and water rat! A mix of mammal, bird, and reptile! A taxidermist’s hoax such as the Chinese mermaids! A primeval egg-laying form of mammal! A living fossil! A prove of evolution! A prove of God!

This creature is an example for the unstable and context-dependent nature of what we call a fact. It is an un/identified object. The shadows it casts are all equally true, all provable projections of one rather complex entity, each reflecting their observer’s thought style built up from his cultural, religious and scientific surroundings.