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By: Michael Shaw

Michael Shaw discusses his recent residency at Davy Markham engineering in Sheffield, and works that have resulted from his use of computer aided design and rapid prototyping within his sculptural practice.

INF08 resulted from an artist's residency at Davy Markham, Sheffield's premier heavy engineering works. Whilst one might imagine that everything is 'made in China' these days, this firm makes the machines that make things. The sculpture therefore pays homage to this incredible industrial heritage and world class engineering. Its torus geometry infers the infinity symbol and was inspired by the circular geometry that typifies many of Davy Markham's commissions, and the circular spindle motion that underpins the functioning of their machinery. The sculpture was suspended in the soaring Winter Gardens in Sheffield during the recent Galvanise Festival, where it floated ethereally across the central apex. INF08 extends my interest in the notion of universally site specific sculpture, by which I mean work capable of creating a meaningful relationship with any location. In this case, it is achieved by existence through a location's air – and containment of it, responding to ambient air currents, and surface reflectivity that draws its surroundings onto itself. Other recent inflatables contribute to the solo touring show 'Virtually Sculpture', which also presents other digitally...

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