Waves |
Ecological concrete made from powdered seashells and sodium alginate gel is used to create wave-shaped patterns adopting a trowel. The blank spaces will be filled with white crystals fostered by sea salt, resembling frothy wave crests. The powdered abalone shell has a subtle iridescent sheen that sparkles. |
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Whirlpool |
Ecological concrete made from powdered seashells and sodium alginate gel is used to create large blocks of wave and arc shapes adopting a trowel. The arc represents both the whirlpool in the sea and the spiral arms or rotating nebulae of the Milky Way. Black patches are created through blending bamboo charcoal powder with sodium alginate. Artificial pearls of various sizes are embedded, conjuring up the image of the welkin filled with countless sparkling stars.
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Cave |
The basic structure is shaped by extruding ecological concrete using a small printing pen. Subsequently, calcareous stalactites are formed directly by dripping a solution of calcium bicarbonate. Calcium carbonate, commonly found as calcite or limestone, is used in this process. Hence, calcite is embedded in specific sections of the artwork.
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Volcano |
Ecological concrete made from powdered seashells and sodium alginate gel constituted the structure of the volcano. Folded kelp leather and seaweed leather serve as distant mountains, which are embedded with volcanic rock fragments, silicon carbide, and fossils of plants and animals. The red lava is obtained through crystal cultivation. The dense smoke emitted by the volcano is achieved by mixing bamboo charcoal powder with calcium alginate. |
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Mine Pit |
Kelp is processed into leather-like material using glycerol and acetic acid as plasticizers. Various biological materials, such as powdered seashells, tea leaf residue, coffee grounds, and crushed corn husks, are transformed into composite paper. The aforementioned materials are dyed using natural dyes, and the differently colored materials are cut and recombined. Carbonized silicon, pyrite, and other ores are directly embedded between the layers of ecological concrete.Various small springs are inserted to imitate the stress distribution between geological layers.
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Estuary |
The artwork takes inspiration from the estuary of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system. The deltaic land of the estuary is formed by ecological concrete that combines shrimp shell powder and seaweed. The upper half of the artwork is sprinkled with pink Himalayan mineral salt particles, which turn pale after drying, creating a texture reminiscent of salt marshes. The red ocean surface is dyed using a solution commonly known as “red blood salt,” which contains potassium ferricyanide.
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Underwater |
The blue-black portion is made of ecological concrete using powdered seashells and sodium alginate gel, with the addition of phycocyanin (algae blue protein) and bamboo charcoal powder. Fish bones, coral fragments, shell pieces, and artificially cultivated pearls are embedded. Kelp, plasticized purple seaweed, plasticized kelp, and other seaweeds are processed into leather-like materials using glycerol and acetic acid. Authentic coral fragments and volcanic rocks are adopted as underwater coral and underwater volcanoes.
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Forest |
The trunks and bark of the trees are created through material extrusion. The material composition consists of sawdust, sugarcane residue, and ecological concrete made from sodium alginate gel. The base is embedded with materials such as plasticized kelp. After the tree trunks have dried, moss, reishi mushrooms, and other plants are implanted. Beehives are embedded between the trees. |
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Background: Since ancient times, minerals, plants, and animals have been providing dyes to painting materials. As lapis lazuli then was almost priceless, ultramarine became a scarce and exorbitant colour. In ancient Rome, it took thousands of spiny shells to produce the purple dye. The advancement of the modern chemical industry nurtured countless synthetic pigments. In 1856, British chemist William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered the purple dye mauveine, also known as mauve. Subsequently, artificial magenta, Prussian blue, and other pigments emerged. In the mid-20th century, chemists managed to combine acrylic acid with other compounds, and a new type of acrylic pigment was thus produced. It now enjoys wide application in artistic creation, architectural decoration, industrial coatings, and other fields.
Motivation: This series of paintings aims to fully tap into ecological materials to create artworks. There are three main objectives: 1 ) Ensuring that all materials used are biodegradable, inexpensive, readily available, and promoting waste utilization. To this end, materials like acrylic latex and polystyrene foam, which are difficult to degrade, are avoided. 2 ) Ensuring that the production process has minimal energy consumption. To this end, materials like Portland cement and even glass, although recyclable, are avoided due to the high energy consumption required during their manufacturing process. 3 ) Ensuring that the final artworks not only possess aesthetic value but also serve ecological functions.
Experimentation: For this purpose, we have designed a wide range of material preparation methods. Our artworks demand materials with some level of malleability to create thickness and certain texture. We have experimented with a series of eco-friendly concrete materials, utilizing oyster shells and abalone shell powder, shrimp shell powder, tea residue, coffee grounds, fruit peels, fly ash, slag, silica powder, or rice husk ash as base materials. Plant starch, sodium alginate extracted from seaweed, and calcium alginate have been employed as binders. However, lignin, which is a naturally derived high-molecular-weight compound, extracted from wood and plant fibres, due to its high cost, is not considered upon. Regarding the shaping process, we have tried mould casting, concrete paper, the production of which resembles papermaking, and “manual 3 D printing”, modifying an electric caulking gun into a printing tool for additive manufacturing.
We remain open to biological materials such as dulse, nori, and kelp. However, to ensure the durability of the artworks, we have transformed them into seaweed leather using glycerol and vinegar as plasticizers. For some green elements, we have used preserved moss. The “manual 3 D printing gun” is capable of creating porous structures, which we soak in materials that can remove formaldehyde so that the product can purify indoor air. Following the same approach, we have utilized materials like bamboo charcoal. Since the paintings tended to become powdery after dried, we decided, after careful consideration, to apply natural beeswax for polishing.
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