r/JoyDivision

Alternating layers of aircraft ply and acrylic, based on the cover of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures.

Took the XY coordinates of each of the 80 layers, plotted them out in CAD, turned them into splines, extruded into bodies, laser cut all of them. Numbering the layers was key to making sure I didn't mix them up.

Laid out the whole deal as a mirrored patterned sconce - I realized that a single side would just be a wedge sticking out of the wall.

Made a 3d print to make sure proportions were correct to what I had in my head.

Took the aircraft ply and dyed them brown, because aniline was tons cheaper than buying walnut ply.

Side design is some Deco inspired work that looked neat (we both love Deco designs).

Built an acrylic inner structure, mirrored acrylic on the back to reflect the lights.

Used some TP-link programmable LEDs to illuminate the layers. Alternatively, a mirrored light bulb is in the center.

On the unseen side is another Unknown Pleasure, the lyrics to our first song, and an engraving of our separate (yet matched) photo booth strips.

All in, approximately 240 pieces. It's not perfect, but it's a solid representation of where my skills are.

Edit!

• For those asking, I grabbed the raw dataset of Pulsar PSR B1919+21 and put that in Excel. Transformed the data so that each column represented a different layer. I exported all 80 columns as individual CSV file in .txt format, with the Z-column being the individual layer heights. I work in metric, because I'm not an animal, so each layer was spaced by 1mm.

• Each file was then brought into SolidWorks as its own sketch. The data points were created as pointclouds. SolidWorks has a neat tool to create a spline out of points, so I used that, 80 times.

• Once I determined some general things, like height, how to best apply the Golden Ratio, etc. I made a general boxy shape that I could modify easily with some basic parametric modeling (CAD crew nodding their heads here), and extruded to the thickness of my stock (this changed many times, as stock thickness had a direct correlation on overall size to maintain my desired ratio)

• From there, I was able to offset the layers, create some more bodies, etc.

• Once I was happy with the entire assembly, I generated a new, flat model for layout. I used this to figure out how much material was needed.

• DXF's were then exported from Solidworks, and imported into Lightburn.

• All plastic parts were cleaned with a degreaser (some offgassing occurred during laser-cutting. Bad settings on my part).

• All wooden pieces were lasercut, cleaned, sanded, dyed, sanded, shellac'd, then assembled.

Also, for further reference, please check out the amazing project from u/_DomovoiD_

Including bootleg picture discs from Brazil… because of course 🤷‍♂️ 😆

a day late but here are some pictures i took of Ians grave 🖤➗

Hooky looks so cool 😎

Couple of pics that I found from the Factory exhibition held in Manchester 2022. Ian's guitar and a letter I think.

The depiction of this iconic image in wood art is my personal homage to the band itself, Ian as a frontman and his tragic fate, and all the impact they still carry into this world.

Design concept: 3D wood art of the Unknown Pleasures album cover art including the text.

Poplar was the choice of wood for the main focal point for its variety of color gradients ranging from greenish tones to dark purples. Each one of the 80 pulsar signals was hand traced & then scroll sawed to shape. This was the most time-consuming part of the process.

Each mountain was then finished with tung oil, which brought out even more natural beauty of poplar wood with added glistening sheen.

The Perspective was my main challenge. It just keeps changing depending on the angle of view and distance away from the piece. I didn’t know what space it would end up at, how tall would it be hanging. I saw so much potential in this concept that I just couldn’t leave the pulsar signals stack as static. It took a lot of brain cells, but eventually I figured out the dynamic element by engineering an adjustable frame. The most challenging part of the process.

It breaks my heart that he died so young he would’ve been 69 if he were still alive

Walk in silence. Rest in peace, Ian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivWOjkyFg8w I will probably use AI magic and some filtering/EQ to help clear up this super rare recording.