After creating various plans in sketch up about how to secure the iPads in place in the plinth I finally came up with a suitable solution. At first I was questioning how the security kit could be used but not disrupt the edges of the image. In this case I decided not to use the kit and to create my own secure frame using wood that could be screwed and unscrewed if anything went wrong with the iPads. Each side of the cube would be made of three parts. A backboard that kept the iPad upright as well as providing a hole for the charger. A frame that housed the iPad to make sure that it was in position. And finally a frame with a hole that fitted the image shown on the screen and stopped the iPad falling out the other side. This last frame would be the only visible element. The back board and the iPad frame would be glued and pinned together, and once the iPad had been placed inside, had the charger attached and the image running on the screen then this front panel would be screwed on to the other elements in order to conceal everything but the frame and the image.
Hidden Elements - Backboard and iPad Frame
Visible Front Panel
All the three elements for each side were cut on the CNC machine using plans that had been drawn in CAD software. This allowed me to be incredibly accurate and keep each side of the cube uniform. In my CAD plans I had to account for an over lapping edge on each side in ordered for this to remain a cube. The first two hidden elements were cut on 12mm MDF, this width could comfortably house the width of the iPad but also mean that there was an offset of 24mm on each side. The side of each panel when assembled as a cube is 330mm2 but in order to achieve this the two pieces of wood had to be cut to a width of 300mm in order to account for the 24mm on the overlap. The front panel was cut on 6mm plywood and had to then be cut to a with a width of 324mm and height of 330mm, the final 6mm would be added on as the wood overlapped on the other side. I had original cut the front panel on MDF but after creating a test cut it didn't really have the finish that I wanted. With the Plywood there is a much nicer feel to the wood and it created much more professional finish. The housing with out the front frames have then been bracketed together as well as 4 brackets on the base in order to attach it to the plinth.
Once these iPads were secured into the frames then it would become very complicated to take them out again. The devices would be constantly charged and the frames were fitted with holes for the iPads to reach the chargers. The only contact that you would have with the devices would be through the screens. I didn't want the images to be disrupted in any way, by fingers that might touch the screen, therefore I used a function on the iPad that disables all interaction unless the home button was press three times. Since the home button was hidden behind the from panel the images being displayed could not vanish. Once this screen was locked the I would also disable the automatic locking and sleep mode in order to keep the image on the screen. Basically once those final screws were placed in the frames and there was constant power running through to the chargers then the images shouldn't disappear. In this sense it made the iPads a very practical means of displaying images.
Since the construction of this housing i could assemble the iPads behind this front panel and the images look really amazing. The retina display of the iPad really does the work justice, and the illuminated appearance of the image bursting from this wooden case looks really intriguing. I had jubilations that the images might appear quite flat or dull in the frames, but once in place it gives real depth to the work. You can peer inside the frame and are greeted by an image that is full of crisp colour, made from objects that come alive within the screen of the iPad.
It has been a lot of effort to exhibit this work digitally, there have been many challenges that have made the idea of printing and the framing the image feel very desirable but bringing this cube together has really paid off. I felt that following my commitment to showing this work digitally has been very successful, the images that have been made possible by digital technologies and databases aren now being illuminated into the room on devices where they can truly flourish as digital paintings. I cant wait to properly instal it in the space and be able to delve into the image as the cube sits effortlessly in the middle of the room.
