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Wrapping Efforts


installation+video

a speculative space where wrapping efforts are made
(recommend watching video fullscreen with sound)


Prompt: Making Spaces

“where something (or a piece of something) is made or processed”
(Creative Tech, MFA Media Design Practices, ArtCenter)

requirement: single-camera, live-feed (could be faked)


starting idea:

present-opening

I always have fun wrapping up presents for family and close friends.
I enjoy reusing materials collected to pack presents.
the time and effort spent in a sense are also wrapped together in the present now.


(mindmapping expanded)

I was also thinking about this top-down view of a box as how the live feed would look like.

what if the entire space is (a) present


what if in this space people can endlessly wrap and unwrap things by breaking down and recombining wrapping materials

further exploring the idea of having endless layers of wrapping
wrapping materials around wrapping materials around wrapping materials around...
as well as imagining presents as wrapping material
while wrapping material being the actual presents


first prototype
in this cabinet installation, every level contains a different relationship of wrapping materials and what's being wrapped.
and as moving to the next level, what's being wrapped becomes the new wrapper, and a new thing is being wrapped

viewing direction: from the upper-left level and downwards to the lower-left, then to the right half from top to bottom.
the red boxes are the portal for the materials

some feedback I got:
find a way to show the space's relation to human scale
WHO is doing the making (consider the space to be active)
could use more common and straightforward wrapping materials to really demonstrate the act of wrapping


second prototype
in trying to find back the original purpose, I did a small prototype of just the motion of endless wrapping with just shiny wrapping paper



final prototype
Combining the first and second prototyes, the final prototype shows a specific order of
wrapping paper being measured and wrapped.
the grid design of the space also indicates a kind of set process, as well as what we could expect for the other spaces aside
(view the final prototype video at the very top of the page)

In this prototype I was remapping the relatable elements of gift-wrapping into abstract performances.
including using clocks as a measurement tool, (for the time that is spent)
credit cards as scissors/knives cutting the wrapping paper, (for the money that is spent)
phone chargers as the present being wrapped, (for the time passed and the energy to wrap things)
and finally, hearts as targets that eventually breaks the wrappings apart(?) (much love)


And then back to the measuring stage. When the video is played on loop, the entire wrapping process becomes a loop.

The building process of this project is a lot about designing with a limited viewing perspective, and how to "simplify" design elements accordingly.

You’re welcome to direct to my creative tech site for more detailed documentation.