Self-Appraisal & Evaluation
The concept of upcycling and reusing wasted materials has been the central theme throughout my year three practice. In semester one, I worked with plastic bottles and transformed these wasted materials into beautiful art pieces. It gave me the confidence to explore other one-off and waste materials in my second-semester project.
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I widened my material investigation with not only plastic bottle but also plastic spoons, cups, bottle caps and used papers. This board rang of materials allowed me to explore different forms and shapes to create a lamp. Among all the elements, I prefer to use plastic or paper cups to build lamps the most because of their flexibility and lightweight features. The cups are easy to cut, fold or bend to be manipulated, and they are very light to be hung up. However, other materials provided distinct texture, colour and structure to the lamp design. The reason that I choose to use waste material was not only because of the upcycling concept but also to discover the potential of the daily objects around us. Through combination or transformation, these familiar materials can become more interesting and useful than we expected.
I started working with paper to create a star polygon lamp structure. Then I moved forward to use plenty of plastic cups to form a sphere that shines with individual fairy lights. It was a successful attempt as the soft, flickering fairy lights glow through the transparent plastic cups, creating a warm, dreamy atmosphere. This favourable material encouraged me to make another lamp design. Thus, I used transparent plastic cups to build a floor lamp rather than a ceiling lamp. The making process was not always successful; sometimes, it takes several prototypes to figure out the right composition. My first plastic spoon lamp failed because of the inaccuracy of the spoon proportion. I then planned more carefully by using blue tack to attach the spoon and examine the numbers that I need before permanently secure them with hot glue. Moreover, I combined white and transparent spoons for the third lamp that presents a new visual sensation than the prototypes.
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Besides my sculptures’ making, I also photograph each lamp accurately and arrange them into a booklet. This booklet offers a glance of all the lamp designs I have in this project to my audience, which will increase the content and interpretation for my degree show. By viewing Derek Phillips’ Lighting Modern Buildings and Malcolm Innes’ Lighting for Interior Design, I understand more about the lighting usage and received inspiration for the lamp designs. In addition, Giuliana Bruno’s Public Intimacy introduced the relationship between architecture and art and their synergism to museum culture and spaces, which led me to consider the exhibition arrangement within the architectural and artistic context.
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​Both Jorge Pardo and Pipilotti Rist have inspired me in this project through their use of material and creative ways to install sculptures. Jorge Pardo used laser-cut plastic pieces to construct large-scale chandeliers that question the boundary between fine art and architecture. The lights follow natural structure from plants and animals to optimise the lighting aesthetics and being hung up from the gallery, which allows the audience to walk around them and experience the changing of light and shadow. Pardo’s works made me realise the importance of lighting and its effect on my sculptures. Whiling exploring the art form of the lamp, I should also consider the use of lighting and what kind of atmosphere they outline to my audience. Pipilotti Rist also constructed an impressive chandelier, but instead of using light to glow directly from the pendant, she projected a video onto it. This multimedia installation gave an immersive environment for the viewers to engage in the artwork through visual and auditory senses. It is an excellent example for me to take my practice further in the future by combining sculpture, sound and video.
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