Human Mutation Project: Nick Ervinck’s 3D printed cyborg sculptures of the future

By combining “fragmentary elements from the past with anatomical parts and futuristic imagery”, a series of fascinating cyborg-sculptures came into being. Nick Ervinck incorporates past, present and future in these incredible sculptures and prints. At the same time, these works can be placed in an ancient sculptural tradition because of the similarities with the classical portrait bust. With their majestic pose and piercing gaze, they tower over the viewer as if they were heroic god statues from the future.

Fostering a cross-pollination between the digital and the physical, Nick explores the boundaries between various media, applying tools and techniques in order to explore the aesthetic potential of sculpture, 3D prints installation, architecture and design.

The sculptures entail similar dialogues between the futuristic, glossy armour and the metal parts, as if the mutated skin of the cyborg is perforated by various metal thorns. This refers to the evolution that our own skin has gone through.

Nick explains: “While the first people on Earth still had fur coats, we now wear clothes to protect us and keep us warm. The technology of the future may allow us to develop a multifunctional skin, that provides extra strength and more protection from harsh weather conditions. This series of works reflects on the growing integration of technology in our society – and in our bodies.

“This evolution offers endless possibilities and solutions for the future. Revolutionary technologies and artificial intelligence could potentially solve important problems in our society, such as climate change, poverty or even mortality. At the same time, this search for a modified ‘super human’ cannot remain without consequences.”