Isabelle Fu

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I chose to base my project on 饕餮, a monster representing hunger/greed and type of bronzework from the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China. I was inspired by the motifs used in the masks and the covering of the eye area. I chose to use yarn and wire because I wanted to push the set limitations of using only linear materials to create planar material. The final design incorporates common motifs from Zhou Dynasty bronzework, elements from the 饕餮 characters, and my own twist to create a modern interpretation of beauty. I started with white yarn, which is the color of death, for the base of the mask. I crocheted the pieces of the mask separately, then connected them with a larger piece that intersected all of the smaller ones. I also threaded thin wire through a majority of the pieces to add structure. Finally, I wrapped the wire in yarn by sewing it through the mask to ensure no sharp ends poking into the wearer’s face. For the coloring process, I dyed the yarn red, magenta, and yellow with watered down gouache. Red is the color that traditionally wards off greed and evils in Chinese culture, and I added the magenta and yellow to emphasis the beauty aspect of it all. I hope that viewers can recognize the ancient influences on my project and acknowledge my interpretation of modern beauty.