INHERITANCE

Inheritance is a sculpture that combines Arduino and hand-crafted materials to explore themes of memory and legacy. Using mechanical butterfly and wool-felted elephant skull, the project create a quiet meditation on life, death, and the traces we leave behind.

Inspiration

Inspiration

Implement Details

The butterflies are fabricated using goose feathers, selected for their lightweight properties and organic texture, with edges carefully singed to create a natural, burned appearance. Each butterfly is assembled around a central metal rod to enable kinetic movement, powered by mini servo motors. The elephant skull is constructed with an internal aluminum framework and finished with hand-applied wool felt, chosen for its tactile quality and symbolic resonance. Together, these elements form an sculpture that evoke presence, memory, and transformation.

The inspiration for Inheritance stems from a personal confrontation with the fear of death and the search for meaning in loss. This reflection deepened after the passing of my grandmother in 2021—a woman of immense strength and unwavering spiritual devotion. Rooted in a family tradition of Buddhism, Taoism, and ancestor worship, her life embodied selflessness and faith. While I may not share her level of religious commitment, her dedication to what she loved continues to guide me. This installation serves as a quiet tribute to her legacy and the enduring presence of those we’ve lost.

Project Timeline

WK 2-4

Testing with materials

Finalizing wings fabrication method

WK 9

Experiment with assembling butterflies

Adding metal rods into the butterfly

WK 14

Adding butterfly stands

Continue on needle felting

Completed Arduino wring and coding

Problem: butterfly structure problem

WK 16

Completed elephant skull

WK 18

Soldering sound detector

Connecting servo motor with butterfly

New problem raised: servo motor could not work with sound detector as it create loud noise

WK 11-12

Building skull structure with aluminum foil

Claying over the skull

WK 5-8

Designing butterfly mechanical structure

Collaborating with the factory to produce mechanical parts for butterfly assembly.

WK 10

Assembling more butterflies

Making adjustment to the mechanical structure

WK 13

Building new (larger) skull structure with aluminum foil

Needle felting over the skull.

Buying wet felting material (dry felting went slower than expected)

WK 15

Continue on needle felting

Discovered new felting techniques

Solved butterfly structure problem

Increase steel rods angle

Adding woodblock preventing wings from getting stuck due to a narrow angle

WK 17

Cutting woodblocks (new butterfly stand + Servo motor stand)

Reinstall butterfly stand

Add more rods to add stability of the structure

WK 19

Removing sensor

Adding wings to the butterfly

Recode and add variation to the butterfly movement.

WK 20: Final 160B Presentation

WK 21: Exhibition