Context:
16th CAU Pi Exhibition · "Flexibility"
Period:
Jan - Mar 2023
Role:
Solo
Concept
3D
Mockup
Exhibit
Tools:
Cinema 4D
Octane Render
3D Printing
Mockups
Reframe
Spaceship as escape engine.
Usually read as progress or rescue. In DOOMED it's the vehicle that lets humans leave faster, so the planet can be written off sooner.
01
Spaceship
Usually read as progress or rescue. In DOOMED it's the vehicle that lets humans leave faster, so the planet can be written off sooner
02
Noah's Ark
Usually read as salvation. Here it becomes the selection question: who gets a seat, and what — or who — is left behind when the vessel leaves.
03
Discovery
No slogan, no caption explaining the concern. Viewers arrive at the climate reading on their own, once they notice what the familiar symbols are being asked to do
Step · 02
3D Printing
All parts modeled in Cinema 4D and exported as STL. FDM print on the studio's Ender — set wall thickness and layer height to balance surface fidelity against print time. Output goes straight onto the bench from here.
Step · 02
Modular Split
Single-piece output was not an option — the body exceeded the printer's build volume. Split the geometry into nose cone, fuselage, fins, and boosters so each part could print at its optimal orientation. Black and white filaments separated to reduce later masking.
Step · 03
Sanding & Surfacer
FDM print lines were the main thing standing between the object and a believable prototype. Surfacer first, then sanded down with P161 grit, then surfacer again — until the geometry read as continuous instead of layered.
Step · 04
Spray Painting
Metallic spray paint over the sealed surfaces. Done in the studio spray booth with the proper PPE. The aged-metal finish is what makes the object read as something fabricated for use, not a model of one.
Output
Takeaways.
A rendered film reads as fiction. An object in a room reads as a prototype — something that could, in theory, get built. That shift was the reason I went past the screen into a physical mockup (3D print, sanding, surfacer, paint). For a speculative piece arguing "this plan is already on the table," the medium had to carry part of the argument.
In the gallery the piece didn't need explaining. Visitors read the inversion on their own, and several told me it made the climate concern feel more present than a straight warning would have. That was the check on whether letting the audience discover the message actually worked outside my own head.
Selected for the 16th Chung-Ang Pi Exhibition, "Flexibility: the End of Average" (Mar 7–13, 2023). On-site visit from motion graphics studio Undesigned Museum, with positive notes on the 3D craft. Motion graphics director Kim Geuryun gave feedback on the films and commented on the visual quality.
Sydney Hong
Province, RI, United States
© 2026 Sydney Hong