Probably A Dog, 2025
Interactive Installation | 3D Printing | 3D Motion
All photos © Studio Tropbien
Probably a Dog is an interactive installation that stages a dialogue between the ceramic practice of French artist Lola Metz and digital technologies. At its center lies a block of clay placed on a round table, connected to a humidity sensor. By spraying water onto the clay, the spectator triggers a series of digital mutations projected in real time onto the wall, illustrating how simple gestures can transform traditional materiality into evolving digital forms.
The immersive projection unfolds within a virtual environment built in Unreal Engine 5, directly linked to the clay block through a humidity sensor and an Arduino system. This connection translates material actions into gradual visual mutations, blurring the boundary between the physical and the digital, and transforming the viewer’s gesture into an active part of the work’s evolution.
The installation extends into its surroundings: two shelves display 3D-printed ceramics derived from these digital mutations, alongside integrated screens. One shows archival material, while the other presents a documentary of Lola Metz at work. Together, these elements create a hybrid workshop where the roles of artist, artisan, and artificial intelligence overlap, inviting reflection on the evolving relationship between tangible and virtual forms of creation.
Rendered Virtual Environment, 2025
Each digital mutation of the shape translates a spray of water on the clay block, visualizing the direct link between material gesture and virtual transformation.
Mutation Process, 2025
AI-generated mutations reinterpret an original ceramic by Lola Metz, shifting from text-prompted images to 3D volumes. The sequence reveals how the algorithm distorts and reinvents matter into hybrid digital ceramics.
Video credits: Dorota Grajewska