Recently, Icelandic entertainment superstar BJöRK held an amazing virtual reality show in Tokyo and presented a custom-designed 3D print mask for the first time on stage. This magical mask designed for Bjork is part of a project called Rottlace. The mask was completed by architect and designer Neri Oxman, the MIT Mediated Matter research group and Stratasys.

Rottlace is an ongoing project that produces a series of 3D designs and printed masks for Björk, each inspired by Bjork's latest album Vulnicura. Through masks, Oxman and the Media Research Group visually explore the themes of self-healing, “faceless skin” in Bjork music. The mask itself is based on the face structure of Bjork. To some extent, these masks are used as a second skin of Bjork to visually reveal her new identity.

Perhaps more familiar is the mask that appeared in Björk's performance in Tokyo in June this year. The mask with bare muscles and tendons was made with Stratasty's Connex3 multi-material 3D printing technology. With this technology, designers can capture the appearance of organic tissues and muscles and mimic the texture and movement of these organic elements. That is to say, the designers combined a hard material and a nano-reinforced elastic structure to print a complete mask to mimic the human body as much as possible.

The Mediated Materials Study Group explained that the Rottlace series of masks were designed and conceived as "muscle fibers." In fact, the way the mask is designed and printed allows the wearer to express movement through their face and neck. Using a multi-material 3D printing system, the design team can create fiber structures that are consistent with the main curvature direction of Bjork's facial features (captured using a point cloud data face scan), which is used as a support structure strategically. Placed on the "high divergence point".

The name Rottlace comes from the Icelandic word Roelaus, meaning less skin, a term that hints at the theme behind the project. We hope that the design team will continue to work with Bjork to create even more amazing 3D prints.

(Editor)