Amy Ma – Amy Ma

Sensory map work

I drew on from my inspiration of the sensory map by Kat McLean mentioned in my blog here: https://amyma.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2023/03/16/why-sensory-design/

From this, I took upon myself to draw up some spice and herb maps of Deptford by analysing the location of all the restaurant in Deptford and noting down what spices they each used in their cuisines. For example, a Caribbean restaurant that had jerk chicken on their menu, through research, would use the spices of paprika, cumin, all spice etc. This was then visualised on a map illustration. I focused on 11 spices, and individually extracted their shape, to map my own spice pods. A very literal representation.

My own experimentation: analysing spices used in Deptford restaurants

This went on to shape my spice pods, creating organic forms, that people can dine inside and spices can hydroponically grow within the biomes.

Yayoi Kusama Exhibition

Exploring the Tate Modern exhibition, I found the installations to be immersive; using colours or absence of colours with the contrast of neon hues and the dark to accent the lights, as well as suspending the lights. Yayoi Kusama uses different types of materiality such as having water below the path, reflecting the lights and providing a zen feeling with a connection to nature.

Infinity mirrored room – filled with the brilliance of light, created 2012

“Forget yourself. Become one with eternity. Become one with your environment.”
Yayoi Kusama

I would like to incorporate this materiality into my project to aid the immersive experience, such that, to use the hydroponic system integrated within the structure and allowing the growth of food to surround my spice pods, so the user can visually connect with the food ingredients and see/feel the texture of the plants.

The use of vibrant colours dotted around the space is also an element to consider for my project. To signify areas of functions in my space, and for the user to make a visual connection to their experience with accented colours.

There was a sense of unity in her installations, as though we were one with the environment. This is the true intention of immersiveness I would like to achieve with my project.

Design process & development

My initial design process starts with observations from the site, and I can depict and decipher the features and personality of Deptford through this. This involves going through photographs and picking out patterns that stand out to me, then drawing this on paper, extracting each scene and linking them together. Finding the connections this way allows me to visibly see what I can focus on in my projects that is a feature of Deptford. I noticed there was a pattern of many restaurants and food stalls of various types of cultures that existed in Deptford. Jerk chicken linking to the Caribbean demographic in Deptford, Pho and chinese with links to the asian culture. This was a feature that made Deptford so colourful and rich to me, which is something I want to extrapolate and explore further.

A mindmap collates all my ideas and keywords I have to consider for my project. It reminds me I have to encompass all these key elements in my design, and the function will follow. It also strengthens the purpose and allows me to design with purpose/intent. It hones in my ideas, and allows me to expand on them and create new branches which enhances my design. For example, growing mediums is a feature I have to consider to grow fresh produce, and I can explore the types of growing mediums in this mind map. The ones with more depth and branches is a clear indicator of the one I should explore.

Developing these sketches is an evolution from my initial observations, mindmaps and conceptual sketches. I realised I have to simplify the idea to fit the criteria of the pop-up so I minimized the form to a circle, and focused my design in the interior. Sketching shapes, I was drawn to the organic form and began drawing curved lines. The circle reminded me of the cycle of food: growing, eating, composting, re-growth. I then began to sketch the function inside. To add complexity to the structure, I sketched exterior ideas and naturally began drawing these organic columns. This visual instinctively shouted out the word “Cultivator” to me. The connotations of food growing and agriculture, created the link. I then googled and found it was a machinery with teeth, which resembled the columns I drew. I then re-worked the columns to look similar to a cultivator. The exploration of sketching allowed me to stumble upon new ideas and trust my instincts when I was having a creative block.

“Don’t think, just do”
Top Gun, Maverick

This then lead me to technical drawings, before I could construct my model. I did this simultaneously as this was a great way to see how I could work my design to scale realistically. Technical drawings in AutoCAD always allows flexibility in my decisions before I finalize them and I can visualise more easily how my space will function. It requires problem solving, and a lot of adjustments, but I still find it a great way for me to come up with a design that delivers my purpose.

Hackney School of Food talk at the RIBA

I attended the talk event at the RIBA discussing the project, Hackney School of Food by Surman Weston, for the “Building Stories – Celebrating the Stephen Lawrence Prize 2022 winner” talk on the 22nd of March. The project was awarded the annual prestigious Stephen Lawrence Prize, recognising the best project with a construction budget of less than £1 million.

The live event was hosted at the RIBA, by RIBA Role Model Satwinder Samra and had guests’ speakers from the founding Architects themselves, Tom Surman and Percy Weston, to Henry Dimbleby MBE, the founding partner of Hackney School of Food and the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation. The headmisstress of the school and the lead teacher at the food school who runs the lessons also sat down and talked through the impact the school has had on the children.

The talk was very insightful into the success of this kind of project involving children and food. For one, the building took over an existing caretaker house that was empty on the premise. The headteacher of the school spoke about that many vacant buildings exist on school premises, so to re-utilize this space brought the school to life. The project brought the community together during construction as they gathered volunteers from the area, teachers and those who were furloughed to dig up the overgrown garden, clear tree stumps and rejuvenate the land. “The heart and soul was given into the project” by the community says the headteacher which continued as it was built. A foundation of love was developed from the beginning, and the project is a reminder of the strong teamwork that was put into it.

“This truly noteworthy scheme provides a service unlike any other to the community; an inspiring place to teach children to grow, cook and eat food.”
RIBA

The project was an effort to tackle childhood obesity, especially in a deprived area such as Hackney. This motivation links with my project and demographic in Lewisham, Deptford tackling unhealthy eating and diets and it all starts with children. The ethos of growing, curating your own diet from fresh produce whilst teaching children in an interactive and positive environment directly correlates with my main project and aims. Seeing the success of this type of project strengthens the direction I want to advance in.

The project incorporates an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven, a mural outside which potentially I can add into my project as there is an abundance of graffiti and murals in Deptford that add colour to the area and a playful environment for the children at school where they could draw and be inspired. Utilizing the outdoor learning space, the architects covered the teaching and dining area with a canopy. This is a feature I should consider for my project and think about multi-use.

Surman weston decided to strip out all the walls and floors to create one big room, which meant they were working with half the square footage intended so they had to really consider functionality and each sq m of space. This is something to consider for my project as space is a restricting factor in my existing building, and problem solving is the way to go. By exposing the roof insulation and beams, it opens up the space and also educates the children on the make-up and history of the building. It allows them to become curious and think about the structure.

The cooking units are adjustable to accommodate all heights of children that attend the classes. There was an understanding from the lead teacher that the kids were more encouraged to eat the healthy food if they are growing it themselves. The growing beds also broke up in height, from front to the end of the garden so children of all ages could comfortably work at their own height.

Rainwater is collected at a agricultural bin from the roof where the children can collect this water source with their watering cans to water their produce. The teacher spoke about the kids surrounding the bin and having fun in taking part of this process of collecting and watering. It teaches kids about water conservation, re-cycling and the cycle of water. A watering system should be embedded into my project of some sort, and the method should be considered that is beneficial to the children’s learning and experience.

Overall, the affects of this project seemed transformative to the children’s behavior. It allowed them to show love to the landscape in creative lessons that influences everything that they do. They take this information and bring it into their daily lives and other lessons such as P.E., food tech, design and science. Generational teaching will extend further than the children themselves. This project has strengthened my project objective and importance it plays in Deptford.

References

RIBA (2023) Building stories – celebrating the stephen lawrence prize 2022 winner, Eventbrite. Available at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-stories-celebrating-the-stephen-lawrence-prize-2022-winner-tickets-539230381587 (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Surman Weston (2020) Hackney School of Food, Surman Weston. Available at: http://surmanweston.com/projects/hackney-school-of-food/ (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Hackney School of Food. Available at: https://www.hackneyschooloffood.com/ (Accessed: April 19, 2023).

Mike Nelson Exhibition Visit

Mike Nelson’s intent appeared to create immersive works and utilising our senses to the highest. Within his work there seems to be an abstract narrative, and a spatial aspect as well as a psychological effect on our senses. Going through his exhibition, there was an internal conflict, of seeing and feeling one thing whilst my mind was overriding, and my consciousness was kicking in.

A lot of his transported me into another dimension, creating a space without context and informing our own situation from it. For instance, the photography room built within the sand hut was painted in red light, creating a very ominous environment straight from a horror movie. Through the light, and bringing in menacing ambiguous chemistry equipment with hanging photographs, the random combination together made an uncomfortable environment to be in. As if it was once inhabited by a menacing character. This control Mike Nelson has over the audience’s feelings, like myself, by working with our senses, is something to consider when designing for my own project. What environment do I want to convey for children? How can I achieve this with the combination of the senses? The ambiguity in his work allows us to actively seek connection and search for meaning. Which means we are doing the work for him; he allows us to be the storytellers from our own point of view.

His work had a distinct smell of old and used materials. It created a sense of eeriness and disorientating at times. I believe it also controlled the direction of travel, avoiding or being curious where the smell led towards. For my project I wish to incorporate the sense of smell in my design, so it informs how the user interacts within my space.

Nelson’s room full of his sculptures ‘The Asset Strippers’ came of my interest as they first appeared to be agriculture equipment. I instantly began to think about their purpose and how they move when they are activated. However, the sculptures are fictional, being constructed from parts of industrial and agricultural machines. He attained these through online auctions from company liquidators. This means they stood as a reflection of the loss of British industry. I was reminded of the labourers who once operated them and the reduced amount of these bustling industries. It brought the question of the value of these labourers and the industry as most things are mass produced and automated. This connotation relates to my work as I am focusing on the act of growing and cooking food. I wish to develop a link to the methods and importance of cultivating food and the connection between people and farming in my design.

His work is also influenced by science fiction. He is inspired by a novel from Stainslaw Lem where it states language is distorted and morphed to create new words that describe things that will exist in the future. Applying this concept to his own work, he ponders over the human desire to predict and control the future, when we are only constrained to work in the present. With my project focusing on hydroponics, I wish to consider the futuristic and science aspect of growing food to sustain for the future. Possibly exaggerating the concept in my design to emphasise the futureproofing of growing local produce.

I also liked the idea of the rooms connecting, such that one door led to you being positioned on one side of the bar, where the other door led to the other side so that you were serving the other person. Nelson cleverly designed the corridor, doors and rooms to be connected, disorientating the user of the space so that they lose a sense of purpose and function of the room. The control allows a manipulation of space being used which I would like to use in my project. Controlling the roles placed in the space through the configuration of the doors, passageways and interior.

Gallery:

Why sensory design?

From reading the excerption of the book ‘The Senses: Design Beyond Vision’, it discusses the importance of the senses and the impact of incorporating this into design. For my project, sensory design could enforce children to learn about nutrition and the act of growing food as it embeds information into their memories. Senses is a great way for teaching and learning as ‘the senses mix with memory’ (Ellen Lupton, 2018). The book explains the ‘brain fires neurons, prunes synapses and forges pathways. Thus, meaning and memory take place’ regardless of our sensory abilities and capabilities. The senses target our smell, passive and active touch, vision, hearing and kinaesthesia which is placement and movement of our body. The sensory experience activates a curiosity and a hunger to learn and remember. Especially for my target audience of children this is important as they are still in the stage of growing and developing, so this ingrained experience may become a core memory and shape their future, not just becoming a memory but also creating a future narrative on cooking. The book also discusses that ‘senses are unique to every person’ hence the experience will be unique to each person in every encounter and ‘inclusive’ so it has the potential to bring everyone together. Broccoli may be more bitter to the other child or cilantro may test like soap for someone else, therefore it is necessary to involve everyone in a sensory design so every child can undergo their own experience, enjoyment of the space and their own conclusion on cultivating, cooking and eating different types of food.

Also, senses trigger and amplify other senses. So sensory design for my project should involve eating, touching, smell and this can increase the attachment and connotations with food and the cycle of food. It will enforce children to understand the process of food production from the very beginning to the end. Sensory design ‘increases health and well-being’ therefore children will build a healthy association to food and incorporate it healthily in their diets.

Scentscape 06.2015 – City of Singapore, 2015 – Kate McLean

The book also discusses how a graphic designer created a sensory map of Singapore and celebrates the quality of a location. The designer used experiential and observational data from over 200 residents who went around Singapore with her on ‘smell walks’. The smells of curry, jasmine and Manila rope were left suspended in the humid air of the island and she then mapped these distinctive smells, visualising their trajectories. “Using humans as sensors is a method that aggregates personal insight…. It is about the acceptance of the subjective as worthy and useful data.” I wish to somehow utilize my own senses and map the scents of Deptford’s food smells which could dictate the design of my space.

References:

Lupton, E. and Lipps, A. (2018) Why sensory design?, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Available at: https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2018/04/03/why-sensory-design/#:~:text=Sensory%20design%20activates%20touch,%20sound,regardless%20of%20our%20sensory%20abilities. (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Kate McLean, “Smellmap: Amsterdam — Olfactory Art and Smell Visualization,” Leonardo, 50, no. 1 (2017): 92–93, doi.org/10.1162/LEON_a_01225.

Lupton, E. and Lipps, A. (2018) The senses: Design beyond vision. New York: Copper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.

Unit 2 Pop-up Precedent Studies

Figure 1 – Floating Garden by Benjamin Graindorge

A garden floats on the surface of a fish tank and uses fish waste as a natural fertiliser for the plants. The innovative arrangement of the fish tank means it is a natural filtration system as the garden absorbs nitrate pollutants in the water, meaning the tank’s water does not require changing. There is a sustainable balance and relationship between the garden, fish and the water tank that involves a cycle that feeds into each other; a recycling principle. It is referenced as a microcosm for the human concern of waste management and maintaining freshwater in a domestic scale. This principle is something I would like to adopt in my pop-up design, combining a system like this in a finite space.

Figure 2 – Hydroponic vertical farm by Sasaki in Shanghai

The proposed hydroponic vertical farm uses the same concept as the floating garden on a larger scale. The water is sourced from a rainwater collection tank, and the nutrients are gathered from the waste of the aquaponics room. This system solidifies the idea of using fish water and rainwater for my hydroponic pop-up to act as a natural filtration system so it can sustain itself.

Figure 3 – Farmshop by Something & Son in Dalston

This farmshop was a temporary space, holding a coffee shop as well as an aquaponic and hydroponic farm, which has closed down in 2011. It was an experimenting space for avid farmers and hobbyists to congregate and discuss about growing. This temporary project provided a space for growing, which relates to my pop-up’s purpose, and shows aquaponics and hydroponics can go hand in hand. The idea of growing is an activity that brings people together and creates a series of conversation in the act of doing and caring for food cultivation which would be beneficial for the community of Deptford.

Figure 4 – Growing Pavilion by Pascal Leboucq at Dutch Design Week

The growing pavilion was a temporary pop-up structure having panels grown from mushroom mycelium supported by a timber frame. The mycelium is rooted in the panels, providing strength and is covered in a bio-based coating. The floors are made from a type of reed, and the interior and exterior benches from agricultural waste. The mushrooms growing in the panels were harvested daily in front of an audience and then cooked at a food truck nearby. The act of having a growing media, outside acting as a barrier between the interior and exterior, and it being a controlled growing, inspires me with my project of having a control with growing with the plant produce between some sort of netting structure. The idea of manipulating the balance of growth with a netting structure, so the plants can grow in between, or around is something to consider. Also the produce being harvested in front of an audience allows the pop-up to become a growing installation and contributes itself to the food cycle.

Figure 5 – Woods of Net by Tezuka Architects, Japan

This pavilion is for a net artist Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam and it contains a hand knitted net by the artist himself. It is designed for children to crawl in, explore, roll around and jump onto the net. The intention was to design a space as soft as the woods surrounding the pavilion so that the boundary between outside and inside disappears. The space attracts people like a campfire where the children play in the net like fire and parent site around like laying wood. This idea has inspired me to use netting in tension for my pop-up, as it is partially transparent, allowing the boundary of inside and out to be blurred, and creates a supportive structure for the hydroponic plants to grow on and around. It also is reminiscent of food packaging, and nods to the containment of food even at the early stage of growing.

The cultivator is the name for my pop-up as I was heavily inspired by the piece of agricultural equipment used for secondary tillage. It refers to the name of the teeths that pierce the soil and drag through it linearly. It also refers to the machine that uses a rotary motion of disks to achieve the same result. The pop-up takes a form of a circle, a simple shape however it symbolises the rotatary shape or motion of the equipment and the structural columns represent the teeth.

Figure 7 – Doctor Who’s Tardis interior, 2005

The Tardis interior was made to be more organic because it was said the tardis was grown rather than constructed. The same principle with the cultivation of food for my pop-up. I decided to create structural columns surrounding my pop-up as the hydroponic towers were not structurally sound to support the pop-up by itself. These columns were to mimick the teeth of the cultivator machine however I created a more organic form to fit with the organic growing purpose of my pop-up, which reminded me of the organic shape of the columns of the tardis. There is a central stem and core associated with a plant or vegetable, and this is a similar interior structure to my pop-up with a central place for the seeds, harvesting and water pump tank.

References

Fairs, M. (2009) Floating Garden by Benjamin Graindorge, Dezeen. Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2009/06/24/floating-garden-by-benjamin-graindorge/ (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Gibson, E. (2017) Sasaki designs Hydroponic Vertical Farm for Shanghai, Dezeen. Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2017/04/26/sasaki-architecture-hydroponic-vertical-farm-sunqiao-urban-agricultural-district-shanghai-china/ (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Hawkins, D. (2011) Farm: Shop – east london’s radical experiment in food growing and Community Building, The Ecologist. Available at: https://theecologist.org/2011/jan/14/farm-shop-east-londons-radical-experiment-food-growing-and-community-building (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Pownall, A. (2019) Pavilion grown from mycelium acts as pop-up performance space, Dezeen. Available at: https://www.dezeen.com/2019/10/29/growing-pavilion-mycelium-dutch-design-week/ (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Basulto, D. (2009) Woods of Net / Tezuka Architects, ArchDaily. ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/39223/woods-of-net-tezuka-architects (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

The Doctor Who Site (no date) Series one TARDIS interior, The Doctor Who Site Series One TARDIS Interior. Available at: https://thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/tardis/interior/series-1-interior/ (Accessed: March 16, 2023).

Unit 2 H&T initial precedents

Nest We Grow is a project built by a team of students from UC Berkeley College of Environment Design for an architectural competition in Tokyo in which they won. Their proposal was to a holistic garden to connect the community with the cyclic nature of food. The space holds elements of the cycle such as planting, growing, harvesting, cooking and dining to composting and the cycle repeats. It is capable of being replicated in different sizes and scales. The nature of the project bringing people closer to the production, consumption and decomposition of food is an aspect to consider for my pop-up installation as I wish to consider the idea of no food waste and this ties in with the food cycle. Also, the idea of it being replicated relates to the theme of a temporary pop structure and it being easy to put up again.

Design District Canteen, Greenwich Peninsula, London, 2021

Designed by selgasano, this transparent structure serves as a food market and welcomes locals and visitors by its light filled and vibrant yellow interior. It is constructed from light metal, clear ETFE membrane shell, and poly-carbonate panels. There is a food market on the ground floor and seating on the top floor and a spine that runs in the middle where stalls are displayed on either side. The core includes a lamp that illuminates the structure at night acting like a lantern. This structure serves the purpose of being a food hub which is directly associated with my Unit 2 premise. It feels light and airy whilst providing a shelter for all food stalls and eating to be done in one place. It invites people in, with it’s grand aesthetic and space making it feel welcoming.

Brazil Pavilion Milan World Expo 2015, Atelier Marko Brajovic

This Expo in Brazil wanted to capture the essence of efficient global food production through flexibility and fluidity. This design creates an element of porosity that communicates the idea of erasing boundaries necessary for achieving balance (Grozdanic, 2015). It has a netting pavilion, to create a breezy atmosphere and exposing the vegetation beneath. I believe that this can aid me in my project as the use of netting for me has connotations to food packaging and holding food, and with its appearance of it providing visibility, there can be an increase of food and human connection.

The project was for a competition held by a performing and visual arts festival in Switzerland and the program was looking for a way to intensify the social gathering aspect of the event. This proposal focused on the ritual of cooking and eating as a detonator for socialization and idea exchange. It implements an open system which transforms the entire space into an open kitchen. The modular table system was inspired by the flexibility of camping equipment and becomes a place to eat, to cook and to relax. This project is a great inspiration to my own as it considers all aspects of communal dining and encourages this simply through the seating arrangement. It feels continuous and unbroken, creating a sense of togetherness.

References:

Valenzuela, K. (2015) Nest we grow / Kengo Kuma & Associates + College of Environmental Design UC Berkeley, ArchDaily. ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/592660/nest-we-grow-college-of-environmental-design-uc-berkeley-kengo-kuma-and-associates (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Ieva, V. (2015) UC Berkeley students designed a wooden community food hub with the help of Kengo Kuma, Archilovers. Archilovers.com. Available at: https://www.archilovers.com/stories/7103/uc-berkeley-students-designed-a-wooden-community-food-hub-with-the-help-of-kengo-kuma.html (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Brasserie 2050 ADCN. Available at: https://www.adcn.nl/archives/brasserie-2050#:~:text=Brasserie%202050%20is%20the%20restaurant,Design (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Zeitoun, L. (2022) Selgascano uplifts London’s Design District with transparent, yellow-toned food market, designboom. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/selgascano-design-district-canteen-london-10-25-2022/ (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Grozdanic, L. (2015) Brazil’s Porous World Expo Pavilion erases boundaries with net-like …, Inhabitat. Available at: https://inhabitat.com/brazils-porous-world-expo-pavilion-erases-boundaries-with-net-like-ramps-and-walls/ (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Louro, A. (2012) Moov + benedetta maxia: Kitchain, designboom. Available at: https://www.designboom.com/readers/moov-benedetta-maxia-kitchain-4/ (Accessed: February 24, 2023)

Project 4 Material Objects Reflection

For this project we were tasked to explore materials on a one-to-one scale that will help us investigate and understand the physicality and substance of an imagined interior from our overall projects. It will also help us convey our ideas to a tangible affect. Touch, scent and visuals are all key to how a user experiences an interior environment and after reading ‘The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses’, I understood the significance of it and this project helped emphasise the importance of these roles. It allowed me to see how my previous projects could exist in reality, on our plane.

“A remarkable factor in the experience of enveloping spatiality, interiority and hapticity is the deliberate suppression of sharp focused vision.”
Pallasmaa, 2012

Images taken from “The Eyes of the Skin”

The book talks about how skin, our oldest and most sensitive organ, is our first medium of communication and the importance it plays in interacting with an interior space. The sensory mode is a parent to all other sense including vision which relates back to tactility and the memories of having felt. It also mentions vision is the most noble of the senses and losing it is the ultimate physical loss. We heavily rely on this when designing a space so, as interior designers, vision is a driving sensory mode.

I thought this read related to this project the most. I am interacting with materials and using my sense of touch and vision to create. This inspired me to be aware of this when developing my sculptural object and use it to my advantage.

The object was suggested to contribute to the collecting aspect of the projects. I realised this is an opportunity to explore and hone in on Project 2 Window of Contemplation’s window frame which has built-in pockets to store my client’s air purifying plants.

I knew I wanted to use bamboo for the pocket framed structure as my projects so far especially Project 2 pays homage to Japanese culture and bamboo is widely used for many generations in East Asia as material for furniture and heavily used in construction as scaffolding in areas like Hong Kong.

The frame resemblances that of scaffolding so my next step forward was to explore bamboo tying techniques. It was very interesting to experiment with lashings as these primitive methods go back centuries and it added a sense of rawness to my project. It is versatile so I wanted to incorporate this woody feel all over.

Having not used glue, or drilling into the bamboo, I found an alternative to holding my structure together that ended up not being destructive to my materials. This meant I can possibly re-use these materials in the future and consider their future purpose.

I wanted to include real life air purifying plants into my sculpture to directly convey the function of my material object and how it relates to the collection. I decided to use coir to house the plants, after discovering and investigating many different sustainable pots and containers at the CSM library. I had a look at pulp, mycelium, wheat-bran, moulded fibre and found the most effective was coir for my intended use as it is very strong for outdoors, can withstand getting wet and has great soil properties so I could use it within the collection.

Sustainable materials at the CSM library

I decided to use rattan and weaving for the pocket base as this is also a traditional technique that used bamboo canes and prominent in Japanese culture. It brings a sense of intricate calmness. Many japanese artists such as Jiro Yonezawa and Shōno Shōunsai have used weaving and interlacing to create rigid sculptures that create the same environment. I would have liked to make my own weave but due to time constraints I sourced a pre-made weaved base from a basket I had already in my home. As I only tied this to the structure and used non-destructive methods, I can recycle this and return it back to its former purpose as a base for my basket. This solution means I am wasting less material and also participating in recycling and sustainability of my project as an artist.

I sourced the bamboo canes and coir from garden centres. Initially I wanted to use a coir pot that is pre-made however they were out of stock. However they had coco liners so I lined this on cardboard to portray the coir pot. I sourced bio-degradable twines from craft shops, and made sure it had enough friction to tie with. I then cut the canes to the proposed sizes, calculating each measurement for the 12 canes.

During trial and error, I found the Japanese square lashing acted better than the square mark II lashing as there was less vertical and horizontal movements and angle of rotation. I also used knitting needles to feed the rope into the weave to tie against the bamboo canes.

Overall I found this project to be very interesting as it was hands on and I had to consider practicality and not just think conceptually. It forced me to consider beyond the designing stage, and look into materials beyond the aesthetics of them. It made me explore the historical uses, composition of the material and how these apply and can play into the interior. I had to consider the language I wanted to convey visually with numerous factors like the stability, texture, colour and form.

Construction process:

William Kentridge RA Exhibition

I visited William Kentridge’s exhibition at the Royal Academy and this was my first encounter with the artists’ work. I found it inspiring the artist worked with a multitude of media spanning from etchings, drawings, collage, film, sculpture to tapestry, theatre, dance and many more that would tell a story and convey poignant messages.

His work encompassed many techniques, one being animation where he would transform his charcoal drawings by rubbing out or adding to them to create a storyline, with some use of sound effects. It was this art form where I found myself being immersed in the story and the atmosphere Kentridge had created. It was the expressive movement in his pen strokes that took me on a journey wanting to find out more of the story and be a part of the experience. It was as simple as a pen mark being followed across the page and transformed into a larger scene. There was a constant path in his work from one destination to another, and it all felt connected. It felt like I was observing, and being a part of, the whole process. This made me think of my portfolio, how I also want to convey a story and path from start to finish, and leave traces of my previous design work onto the next.

He almost uses palimpsest in his animations, layering evidence on top of evidence, to create story arcs and depth to historical or political events. It creates a sense of reality and realness to his work, and allowed me to really feel convinced by his drawings. Another recurring technique he uses are words and phrases in the animations that transition into a scene, therefore allowing the audience to focus on the keyword and message of his work and what he is trying to convey without needing to much explanation or additional context. It was clear and set the tone of the scene. These are the ideas I want to influence my portfolio work, with clear intentions and layered evidence to back up my work.

Kentridge erased and left behind traces of his previous drawings in his animations which felt like an echo of the story. It allowed myself to absorb the remnants of the past as the next part of the story was progressing. I noticed he projected his charcoal drawings onto the walls of the gallery which exemplified the artist leaving traces, scars and memories of his work for the viewers to absorb as they went around the gallery. It was all part of a journey to tell his story. I wish to use this in my work by projecting and extracting aspects of my design ideas and paste them beside my overall design so individual elements can have a focus point yet also convey the general intention I want to create.

Drawing fragments from Ubu Tells The Truth, 1997

The artist builds and outlines his story using words from newpapers, or circling evidence that strengthens his points such as his Landscape pieces where he highlights the terrain changes that have been made by European influences on South Africa. This technique could influence the way I present my interior design work and I may use this method to highlight my design ideas.

Hunting the Spurwinged Goose (Colonial Landscapes), 1995-6

He also uses contrasting symbolism for example in “The Conversationist’s Ball” where he highlights the realities of South Africa under apartheid by drawing wild animals that represent government officials and embedding threat into the scene, juxtaposing with white South Africans enjoying their extravagant lifestyles in the same art work. This can relate to my interior design practice by designing spaces with a juxtaposition and contrast in design to accentuate the message I want to convey in my space. This could be using colour, shape or form.

In his tapestry and map works, I was intrigued with the layering again, and using red lines to cut through the map, as if Kentridge was mapping a trajectory for the viewer. I would like to use this imagery and technique for my site mapping and analysis as this is a very interesting visual to read and inviting. It would be a unique approach to looking at the site history and layering a site development.

Carte Hypsometrique de l’Empire Russe, 2020 (left) and Drawing for the Head & the Load, 2018 (right)

Puppet for Waiting for the Sibyl, 2019-2022, designed by Greta Goiris

His theatrical exhibit featuring puppets for “Waiting for the Sibyl” inspired me to think about my Project 4 Material Objects, especially with the puppets involving wood. The compilation of the raw material, with a colourful fabric, deemed the puppet to be exciting and dynamic. I wish to incorporate this into my sculpture with contrasting colour of green against the natural wood colour. It also made me ponder on the type connection and material wood I want to go for.

This sculpture I found in my opinion had a slight resemblance to a plant silhouette and inspired me to consider the form of leaves and plants and how it will direct a space in this manner. I possibly can play with this arrangement, and it made me think about the absence of boundaries of a space, vertically and horizontally. That a space does not have to be linear or at right angles or in straight lines.