The Penis Wall, a kinetic sculpture by artist Peiqi Su, is made up of eighty-one 3D printed penises that each have six segments driven by servo motors. Equipped with an ultrasonic distance sensor, each unit can respond to a viewer’s movements. Moreover, the Penis Wall can also be used as a display to represent data. For instance, the waving willies can be synched with fluctuations in the stock market.

The Penis Wall Kinetic Sculpture

Designed for Su’s thesis project at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (a program focused on interactive and new media art), The Penis Wall was displayed on May 19 and 20 as part of ITP’s spring exhibition showcasing student work.

In a statement accompanying her thesis project Peiqi Su says “The penis is so different! This is my initial motivation, to study one of the oldest and probably the most attractive thing that humans interact with.”

The Penis Wall in action:

The Penis Wall /Interaction with the viewer:

A lot of work went into this project, here’s a peek at a small part of it.
Some of Peiqi Su’s 3D modules:

The Assembly:

The Base:

The Tip:

The Body:

Circuitry and sensors for each 3D printed penis:

Rendering of final project:

the first animation test:

In a summary of her thesis, Peiqi Su outlines her work as follows:
Research Process:
Male sex organ probably is the oldest and the most attractive thing that human interacts with. It’s a large topic in arts, but I didn’t find any interactive penis installations in art and related field. (Sex toy is not in my thesis’s area of discussion.)

Arts about penis:
• Richard Campbell. Giant Penis
• Yayoi Kusama. Aggregation (1963)

My installation is different in the following categories:
Key Features: Interact with people’s movement.
Look & Feel: Abstract, White, Smooth, Plastic.

Personal Statement:
Why Penis
When talking about the penis with friends, I found there are a thousand “understandings” in a thousand people’s “mind”. Scary, power, ego, evil, elegant, loose-control, funny, crazy… I’m astonished to find so many contradictory feelings about the penis; as well as diverse topics around it such as feminist, man-power, freedom, politics, Wall Street and more. I hope to provide a chance for people to discuss penises and things related by creating an interactive installation.

For myself, I’m also interested in the behavior of penis. It’s soft and hard, up and down, small and large, smooth and rough. It may be the most attractive and intuitive interface.

Design Process:
Feb. 07: Initial prototype. Tested on the mechanic structures.
Feb. 21: 2nd iteration. Added “skin” onto the structure, 3D printed one.
Feb. 24: 3rd iteration. Reduced the thickness.
Feb. 25: 4th iteration. Created the round body.
Mar. 1: 5th iteration. Designed the servo box attached to the penis base.
Mar. 15: 6th iteration. AMS printed the first penis.

Production Process:
Week 1. Idea development, building first prototype. (DONE)
Week 2. Pilot test, first iteration. (DONE)
Week 3 & 4. 3D molding, sensor and circuit testing. (DONE)
Week 5. Finishing one modul. (DONE)
Week 6-9. Manufacturing mold, buying sensors, testing. (DONE)
Week 10. Assembly (IN PROGRESS)
Week 11 & 12. Sensor and software Testing.
Week 13 & 14. Last minute fix.
User Testing
Week 2. Pilot Test with one hand push prototype.

all images and videos courtesy of Peiqi Su via Tisch ITP