Hans Jiang

My intension of this project was to expand on an idea: “Curiosity killed the cat.” The global pandemic of the COVID-19 seems to suggest that people always try to open up Pandora’s Box which brings not only hope but also trouble. But it is also the burning curiosity to the unknown of human beings that lead us to the future. This project was designed for woodwork. Since we have been quarantined at home, I decided to use cardboard from mailing or shipping to finish it for its accessible yet malleable. Then I came up with the idea of using my lamp as a base. The light is 60V so it may light up the material. So I used a LED light that I own for photography instead. There is a lighting mode called “thunder”, that would work great to use as a metaphor for the virus or any kind of trouble. Also, I peeled off one side of the cardboard and cut them into three parts to make the interesting shading of each polyhedron surface. Instead of making a box, I elongated the shape of the original Truncated Octahedron into a “bulb” shape. Before closing the whole shape, I made a secret door that can be opened to change lightings. For connecting the whole structure of the polyhedron, I punched holes and used shoelaces to create new shapes out of each surface. After finishing up, the effect comes with the LED light works well. It seems to have an actual storm inside the lamp.