Introduction
The project required us to experiment with a set of materials. Through this, we learnt how to handle new tools. The intangible aspect, was something intriguing and I got familiar with associating material and forms to a feeling.
Creative and Critical Thinking
To discover the potential of the materials I used different techniques and noticed their behavior, and came up with explorations by manipulating them through the techniques.
Material and Techniques
The result of a technique will change with the material. Plastic becomes elastic on heating, while nylon rope will melt and eventually break.
Eliminating parts of a material can also give it a new form. Removing wires from one direction in a mesh, changes it's form.
One can manipulate the strength of a material through techniques like cutting and heating.
While cutting PVC pipe, it is important to have it on a level, else the granules that form on the surface injure the skin while cutting.
Struggles
Naming explorations - With most of my explorations, I struggled to name it something intangible. I couldn't connect to the feeling it represents. I think creating something with no thought, is what makes it hard to name it. A creation should start with a thought, and I think I achieved a good understanding following this process for the final outcome.
Cutting adjacent sides of square-section pipe - To make it work I had to try placing the pipe in different orientations to figure out the right one. The hacksaw works better on a diagonal angle, therefore place the material accordingly.
Manipulating thick wires - Since these have more strength than thin wires, I couldn't achieve an outcome by my hands. This got me used to the nose plier, which helped me bend the material more conveniently.
Implications
Material carries a feeling. In JO, I had understood how material contributes to a design, but this project added more to it. Manipulating a material can add more meaning to it.
I think the project has added to my perception of materials. Now I feel capable of comprehending the emotive qualities of a material.
Connections
In think lab, exploring visual expression had changed my perception of this visual element. Material can also express emotions by taking different forms through manipulation.
For the explorations, I had used the thinking tool SCAMPER, to explore new forms of the materials.
For the final outcome, I had followed a similar process like the thinking hats. White hat when I tried to inquire about the process to convert my idea into an outcome. Black hat, to think and modify the mobile accordingly.
Bi-feels
Through the tangible, I am trying to convey the state of a Bisexual person. Figuring out one's sexuality can be very complicated in a conservative environment, where the society always tries to impose the norms. Bisexuality is accompanied by similar complications.
For my outcome, I tried to represent these feelings. The model rotates, to depict the constant change in the level of attraction. Leaning more towards one gender may even lead one to confusion about their sexuality. This grows more complicated, as some try and suppress these feelings of attraction due to the pressure of following the stereotypical norms of society. The form is layered with wire on the top, to convey this suppression. The spherical form is hollowed in the lower part, and solid in the upper to create a feeling of suffocation with the suppression of wire.