Mon Feb 3, 2025
I continued working on the unfinished idea from Unit 1, using the geometric nature of the tangram to create ever-changing forms from the same basic shapes. This is an abstract silhouette of a bird. Through repeated printing, the smooth surface layer of the cardboard I used began to wear and peel off. It started to fade, although this didn’t significantly affect the print quality. I felt the softness and fragility of the card mirrored the precariousness of migration, the ease with which environments and identities can be altered or eroded. Unlike rigid metal, the card bore visible marks of each interaction—tears, frays, ink stains—accumulating a visible history of its own, much like the invisible scars migration leaves on individuals.
As I observed the patterns on the cardboard during printing, I kept thinking: it seems that when I work with cardboard, the material itself evokes certain visual characteristics in my images—sharp contrasts of black and white, clearly defined shapes and divisions. This results in a restrained and introspective visual feeling. But can I break away from these clearly defined boundaries? And if so, where should I begin to make that change?
This marked the beginning of subtle changes in my Unit 2.