Geo Slice

Geo Slice is a set of abstract reproductions of a few geological features in the United States. They are made of clear, laser cut acrylic with the top edges painted in various colors. These pieces are arranged in lines to recreate a three dimensional landscape. The first set of slices look at four landmarks:

• Mount Rainier
• Mount Hood
• Death Valley
• The Grand Canyon

They were created using elevation data from the USGS, but are not to scale. Some of the landmarks also have inverse variants that turn the mountains into pits.

While I think the slices are neat knickknacks in their own right—and the black ones really would fit great in any 80s CEO’s office—I was also interested at looking at the lossiness inherit to digitalizing the physical world. The acrylic and paint create abstract strips of terrain floating in space, echos of the majestic landscapes they depict (Oh god, I’m gagging to death over here).

I originally planned to create a website that would allow anyone to create and order their own Geo Slices, but the manufacturing process turned out too time consuming. While I tried spray paint, painting the edges by hand seemed to be the only way to get the effect I was after.

I’ve put some of the slices up on Etsy cause hell if I know what else to do with ‘em.