Tackling a material I don't believe in

2022

This project was my final assignment in the plastics basics course, where we had to create a lamp using plastic. While I already had reservations about the material, I came to understand how limited recycling actually is: plastic quality degrades with each cycle, making it impossible to rely on recycling alone to solve waste issues. In response, I set out to work only with found, single-type plastics, keeping recyclability in mind. My experiments focused on thermoplastics and their reactions to heat. After struggling to move from small samples to larger forms, I discovered a method of layering plastic bags on a heated aluminum bowl. This produced a decopatch-like effect that allowed me to shape the material while experimenting with color.