Work II

I went to Lake Rotoiti and gathered some sand, some rocks and a sprig of algae to use in a work. I had used sand from the ocean in Work I and wanted to create a work with the essence of a fresh water body of water. I used some of the algae pigment I have been cultivating from Lake Taupo. Hard to harvest though, I purchased a really fine straining fabric for the purpose a majority of the algae still strained right through it. I did not end up with a strong pigment but it was noticeable in the jelly form. The images below show the straining of the algae and the bioplastic work after it had been freshly poured into the wooden frame.

I had been working with a new agar powder, and the properties are quite different to the two others I have worked with. While quite clear, it sets quicker and seems more fragile in its jelly form. It also does not gel together if the liquid bioplastic is poured in seperate layers as I did this this work. The work split into two layers through the curing process so the layer I imbued with algae became its own seperate layer. Although your can see the different colour from the algae, it is not very strong pigment and ends up being more light brown than green which I surmise is because the algae goes brown when it does like a plant would.

The work was very fragile when it was dried. Being in a room with a dehumidifier it had the majority of liquid drawn from it. After sitting in my studio for a few days and being a hydrophilic material, it absorbed moisture from the air and became somewhat more flexible and therefore less fragile. I did quite like the fragility of it though, it made it seem more ephemeral although would make transport, handling and installation more challenging.

During the curing process, the water is evaporated and they shrink. These works are set within a wooden frame that is 410mm wide x 515mm high and during the curing process they shrink to approximately 340mm wide x 460mm high. The depth of them shrinks from about 10mm to about 3mm.