Beautiful Destruction: A Sculpture of the 2011 Tohuku Earthquake

It’s been almost a year since the devastating Tohoku Earthquake in Japan. While the country is still dealing with the aftermath, one artist has done a sculpture of the earthquake.

No, that’s not a mistake. Bristol, UK-based artist Luke Jerram has created a 3D sculpture based on a seismogram of 9 minutes of the magnitude 9 quake. He used a CAD program to rotate it into 3D and rapid prototyping to print out the sculpture.

Sculpture of the 2011 Tohuku Earthquake

The sculpture, which measures 30 x 20 cm (11.81 x 7.87 inches) was also done in glass and is currently being shown in a show called Terra at the Jerwood Space in London.

It’s a beautiful and respectful way to reflect on the repurcussions of the the earthquake and the tsunami, some of which, like the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan and the rest of the world will be dealing with for years to come.

If you like this, you might also want to check out our posts on the TALON and iRobot RC Rescuer robots, both of which where used in the power plant after the earthquake. You might also be interested in a DIY earthquake detector.