First prototype of the Photographic Hammer

Below you can see the process of construction and use of the prototype of the Photographic Hammer. I developed this device to translate the image projected inside a camera obscura into a ceramic relief. Inside the camera obscura in my studio in Deventer a large projection panel of 3×4 meter was made. The panel stands on wheels to be able to move it in order to focus. Onto the panel wet clay is mounted using specially designed vertical mould boxes. The object in front of the camera is projected onto the wet clay. The photographic hammer consists of a light sensor and an actuator. It sees the image and directly hammers into the wet clay. The hammer is manually moved over each part of the projection using guide rails. This method was also used on location in a bunker during artist in residence project The Other.