Maximo Malaiu

02 — Object / Web

Ultra Processed

Another way to experience objects — from plaster in a plastic bag to a page that answers to music.

The cast object rebuilt as a lilac mesh of fused, perforated cells, floating on white.
Scanned and compressed
Year
2025
Media
Plaster, 3D scan, three.js
Tools
Rhino, Python, Blender

Premise

These plaster casts began as quick material experiments alongside my terracotta facility research. Using plastic bags and rubber bands as molds, I created distorted, pop-inspired forms that reflect the over-processed nature of the products and media we consume.

Process

01 — Casting

Each object was cast directly in plaster, embracing irregularity and compression. The low-tech process produced unpredictable geometries that could not be easily designed digitally.

A white plaster form with bulging, bag-pinched lobes, rendered on a plain background.
Plaster cast

02 — Scanning

The physical pieces were 3D scanned and imported into Rhino. Using Python scripts, I simplified the point clouds and generated new geometries, sometimes creating spheres or aggregated forms from the scanned data.

The same lobed form shown as a dense grey wireframe mesh.
Point cloud
The form rebuilt as a saturated purple aggregate of fused spheres.
New geometry

03 — Compressing

The models were further refined and compressed in Blender to reduce polygon counts and prepare them for real-time interaction on the web.

A bright magenta version of the object with a finely tessellated surface.
Reduced mesh

04 — Publishing

The final result is an interactive webpage built with three.js, HTML and CSS.

The objects rotate and respond to different songs in real time, changing scale and form according to the rhythm of the music.

Open the interactive piece

Screenshot of the live page: a grey wireframe object floating on white beside the title Ultra processed.
In the browser