“Hidden Topographies” explores the extrapolation of two- dimensional maps into 3D sculptural representations. Darya used a map archive of Cripple Creek Gold Mine provided by the Western Museum of Mining and chose 8 maps of mine tunnels to be transformed into 3D sculptures.
Traditional maps are usually created referencing the view from the top plane and were exclusively done by hand before the introduction of CAD software. Darya wanted the audience to experience the tunnels as sculptures, observing them in three-dimensional space. The sculptures were printed by MycoPrinter, a DIY clay-based printer.
http://www.daryawarner.com/mycoprinter
Darya built the printer to be able to print with various living substrates. For this project, a locally made clay was used and soil from Cripple Creek Gold Mine was incorporated into the sculptures. Each 2D map drawing (see the titles) was processed into 3D printable files. Due to the DIY nature of the MycoPrinter, it processes the files in a certain way resulting in a unique interpretation of each 2D map – some of them very much recognizable and some more abstract, affecting their stability – a few had partially collapsed either during printing or after. Darya wanted the audience to witness the “flaws”, resist the intention of “perfection correction” and immerse in intricate details of hidden topographies.