ORGANIK: Conquering Project Packaging

Design challenge: building non-objective sculptures from the packaging materials

How much packaging have you thrown out this week?

This month? 

What about the past year? 

In a world held together by Amazon deliveries and single-use takeout boxes, most of us rarely appreciate the heaps of cardboard and wrapping which come with it. 

In light of this reality, the Grade 11 Visual Art Majors were challenged to design and build non-objective sculptures from the packaging materials we collected at home. Aside from developing an aesthetically cohesive and abstract design, we also had to consider how to incorporate the use of light and shadow. Here’s my journey:

Stage 1: IDEATION

I wanted to encapsulate the theme of “manufactured organics.” As the marketing world rides on paradoxes such as “all-natural” pills delivered in plastic bottles, my vision involved building geometric structures to create its opposite: an organic form.

Ideation was tough. While developing the designs took countless iterations and frustrated grunts, figuring out what plans were realistic took even more. After many cardboard scraps and hot glue gun burns, I set on a design inspired by the lattice structure found in ice ––the “essence of life”––and cities.

Stage 2: BLUEPRINT

I was determined to build a perfect structure – I calculated all the dimensions so all pieces would fit seamlessly. Here, I came across my second hurdle: cardboard is rebellious. After all its neglect from shoppers, it doesn’t want to look seamless, precise, or near perfect.

The biggest battle I fought throughout this project was pushing my obsession to construct a perfect structure against materials that aren’t meant to be perfect. It took me numerous trials to accept it; my pieces weren’t going to have anything near the same width, colour, or design. 

Stage 3: BUILD

3 is where the vision slowly comes together – very slowly. I had 26 pieces to build, and I estimated it would take 15 minutes to create one. On average, I took an hour. The challenge I faced was ensuring I held on long enough for the glue to settle in the correct angles while trying to finish the structure before the decade ended. Patience was essential, and I didn’t have much of it. 

Before the final stage, let’s appreciate the art majors hard at work:

Stage 4: PRODUCT

I haven’t felt so much relief, liberty, and pure happiness in a long time. The final product incorporates a variety of polygon towers of various heights. From left to right, the structure gains size and colour; it grows vigour as it gathers vibrancy. It reflects my Project Packaging journey: I start small and low, fighting against the material; I grow into using it, with bumps and low points along the way; I finish happy and learn to embrace the beauties of the medium. At least slightly.

Here it is: ORGANIK