As the course came to an end, we were asked to develop a systemic model that mirrored our own reflections of systems thinking. Since our last remaining classes focused on somatics, or the understanding and awareness of the whole body moving in space, we were asked to use our own experiences to communicate our interpretation.
I decided to create a kusudama, which is Japanese for "medicine ball." I printed old world maps on origami paper, and integrated both the map design and original origami patterns in order to create a juxtaposition that was aesthetic, but more importantly that would represent how other patterns and designs, often derived from society and culture, play a role in systems complexity.
The kusudama is a modular spherical structure made of smaller geometric components. There are many ways to design a kusudama, but I chose to create forms that were more geometric and indicative of architectural geodesic domes.
Creating the kusudama contextualized the whole and the sum of a system's parts. Now new ideas can stem from this iteration that play on graphics, typography, technology, scale and material construction. Also, considerations can be made in terms of how this object can be presented in the world. Can we transform this into a household object that has purpose and function? Can we create a human-sized structure that can be displayed in a public space?
These are some of the pieces that went in to making the final kusudama. I used about 30 pieces to create this kusudama. Here you can see some of the map patterns that were printed on the backside of the origami paper.
This is a full view of the entire kusudama. It is about 9 inches in diameter.
To read more about this and other projects, go to the
Beautiful Networks blog.
Or to read a full PDF write–up about the project,
click here.