Saturday, June 18, 2016

Amazing Star Wars Miniature Landscape by Adrian Weinberg

Inspired by the planet Dagobah. In the Star wars films, this is where Luke Skywalker crashes his spaceship and meets Yoda for the first time.

The 'Dagobah' terrarium is approximately 1 metre wide and high, and uses plants from Victoria as its base. The bottom layer comprises larger chunks of charcoal, which provides the drainage system of the terrarium and – due to its carbon content –also filters and absorbs bad smells. For the final layers, Weinberg uses Sphagnum moss and Peat moss.

The two walls on either side of the terrarium are made from gold vine and are one of the most identifiable aspects of this installation. To top it off, Weinberg adds mist and, of course, a crashed spaceship front and centre – complete with smoke coming out of it! – while Yoda looks on from his perch in the trees.

Creating for Weinberg is all about experimentation. "Trying and trying and trying again seems to be a recurring theme," he explains. "But eventually it gets all 'Jedi' and you throw things together while emptying your mind, and always surprise yourself with the result.”

Weinberg explains the design process as a 'mad science', which develops naturally as he experiments with different plants and rocks. One piece of advice he gives for anyone wanting to design more difficult terrariums is to always buy more of the plants, rocks and other design tools than you need – for the purpose of trial and error.