Abigail Trujillo Vazquez has successfully defended her thesis!
We are very happy to announce that ApPEARS ESR Abigail Trujillo Vazquez has successfully defended her thesis titled ‘The development of 2.5D printing for appearance re-creation: Exploring ancient Mexican artwork through European archives’ at the University of the West of England, on January 16, 2024. Congratulations, dr. Abigail Trujillo Vazquez!
Abstract of thesis
This thesis investigates the capabilities of printing technology in producing 2.5D prints and utilises these findings to develop printing applications for appearance reproduction and retrieve the appearance of artwork from ancient Mexico. The research project examines the extent to which the appearance of objects can be either retrieved or designed in 2.5D prints in the absence of complete recorded surface data. The research goal is the development of 2.5D printing techniques for more faithful reproduction and recreation of material appearance, and especially, to approximate the appearance of original artwork as closely as possible. For this purpose, diverse printing methods and techniques are explored, refined and combined. Two types of artwork were reproduced: damaged pre-Hispanic wall stucco reliefs and featherwork artefacts.
Because of a turbulent history or natural ageing, many ancient significant artefacts of the indigenous cultures of ancient Mexico, have undergone irreversible damage and the loss of tactile, visual, and ritual elements over time. On the other hand, there are artworks whose visual qualities are difficult to transfer to their copies such as those made from iridescent and highly reflective material. The aim is to explore and optimise diverse methods and materials and contribute to understanding how print media can help preserve, interpret, and understand cultural heritage by better representing the original’s materiality.
By investigating the influence of custom roughness on the colour and glossiness of printed patches the research contributes to understand the impact of surface structure on the visual properties of elevated prints. Furthermore, by exploring techniques for creating images using structural colourants it expands the notion of 2.