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05.
rotorelief
retrofit

A kinetic installation made with the Arsenale Institute in Venice for the exhibition “D is for Duchamp, the Deep Dyed Deceiver”. A custom motorised mechanism retrofits a vintage aluminium disc with hand-made components, reproducing the rotation and the optical illusion of Duchamp's original.

Three rotorelief discs with different spiral patterns on black plinths — fig.01 three discs, three optical patterns

specification

The motor runs at roughly 33 rpm, the speed of a turntable. Duchamp's device was first meant to spin on a gramophone, so the number is the point, not a coincidence.

The job went from mechanical design and fabrication through to assembly and structural integration in the gallery. What makes it work is the precision: historically faithful, independently engineered.

details

rotation:

speed33 rpm

modecontinuous

material:

vintage aluminium disc
custom motorised mechanism
hand-made components

scope:

mechanism design
fabrication
on-site assembly and calibration

A rotorelief disc spinning on a plinth in the gallery — fig.02 spinning, at the Arsenale Institute

Personal project
With Arsenale Institute for Politics and Representation
Exhibition: “D is for Duchamp, the Deep Dyed Deceiver”
Venice
2026

📸 picture by me