Project by George Guu
Melted-into-Thin-Air"“ looks into the physical thinness of the aluminosilicate glass that forms the interface between our tangible world and virtual clouds. Mounted on contemporary devices like the iPhone and iWatch, the <0.5mm chemically strengthened glass strives to disappear, providing utmost protection against the physical world.
Its origin is the Earth’s richest element, silicon (Si), residing in earthly SiO2. The transformation from coarse, opaque sand to smooth, transparent glass is a complex journey: from rough physical excavation and displacement, through multi-stage sieving and refinement, through fine laboratory fusion and composition, to precise chemical bathing and trimming by automated robotic arms.
The embedded processes are heterogeneous and complicated. The revelation puts on display the tremendous ingenuity and effort involved, not as critique or celebration. The stark contrast between the intricate industrial genesis and the final crisp, clear consumer product holds a certain sublimity, as many human inventions do.
