The first concept for using rice paper was to drape it over a tennis racquet, and using the weight of the water to have it droop into little bubbles that can then be turned around and act as little buttons. Upon experimenting, the rice paper did not behave as expected. As the material had elasticity and a tendency to return to its normal shape, throughout the drying process, the drape regressed into its original flat form as shown in the first photo.
What I tried next was to mould my hand in a “hand holding” position. It took a while to dry as only one side of the rice paper was exposed to air, and the moisture was trapped between my hand and the material. I waited for a while for the heat of the hair dryer to hopefully penetrate through, but it was not happening. I couldn’t wait overnight for the paper to dry so I took the “hand” off while it was still a little moist. Even though it moulded quite well, it dried in an uncanny position that defeated the “joy” aspect of the project.
The final iteration of the project was an attempt to not try to give the rice paper form, but to let the material act on its own. It was achieved by wetting the rice paper and draping over objects in my kitchen, like sauces, chopsticks, snacks, etc. The result was almost like fabric frozen in time, and by layering them, the final form resembled a flower. In presentation it was suggested that the transparency of the material could be taken advantage of with the use of a light underneath, which I really loved.
