5kg of Agar
In writing that title, I feel like that could be a work in itself, ‘5 bags of agar’ because of the potential of what it could become, a bit like looking at a blank canvas.
This is 5kg of agar 1200 powder from a supplier (Gino Biotech) in China. This agar has the strongest gel strength of the powders. From further research into agar, I am understanding why there is such variation in the agar powders I have purchased to date. There are a range agar powders available by Gino Biotech which have of gel strengths from about 500-700 g/cm2 to 1100-1200 g/cm2 (the most expensive). I am hoping that by using Ager 1200 I can create bigger sheets, or ,moulded forms which dont collapse on themselves before setting, or forms and skins which hold without tearing. With 5kg, I do not have to be so precious with it and have some freedom in quantity of materials.
First things I created were some forms moulded in glass beakers. These are a kind of baseline for me as I have been making these for over a year and have tried with the various agar powders I have used. In moulding these forms I have to continually roll the hot agar gel around the inside of the glass mould until it cools and thickens enough to leave a skin. Agar with a lesser gelling strength seems to slip from the glass and puddle in the bottom of the mould. This gel held better than previous agar powders I have used. I did ad glass beads to this mixture though which I haven’t done before in making these moulds. I do like the glass beads due the added luminosity and texture it gives the bioplastic. When the bioplastic cures it shrinks so the glass beads pull together and warp the bioplastic as it tries to condense itself as the water evaporates. No form is ever the same even though the same mould is used, however the glass beads seem to exaggerate the transformation that occurs in the drying process. They almost seem quite tortured as they go through the pushes and pulls of the process, like how the portrayal of a human changing into a werewolf.
5kg of Agar
