P O W E R O F O R N A M E N T A T I O N
I N S H A P I N G C U L T U R A L I D E N T I T Y
Throughout my time at RISD and Brown, presenting my work and collaborating on a global stage had a profound impact on my perception of art and design as well as its intersection with the field of data science. Working in different cultures and languages, I learned new ways to think, process, and communicate information. I do not underestimate the value of embracing open-minded learning and sharing. This allowed me to develop a strong interest in the history of ornament and pattern, which developed into my five year-long investigation on the power of ornamentation in shaping cultural identity.
This project is about expanding the logic of ornamentation by asserting that the patterns of city fabric and urban planning can be viewed as ornaments, evoking how the space was, could be, or should be. As the situationists’ mapping practice indicates, I believe that ornament now can exist on a larger urban scale as a symbolic means to indicate the political and functional usage of the space. Through this new way of viewing ornamentation, my project describes mapping as an ornamentation practice, as a language of communication, and as a way of thinking about non-neutrality of our contemporary space.
In a way I wanted my documentation of thought process as well as reading notes to become an ornament in itself. This is why all my research stems from my travel sketchbooks and is composed of entirely handwritten and hand drawn pages without the help from digital technology. I truly believe that this book is a culmination of my experience as a dual degree student, which shows how I think, process, and make things as a designer.
Fall 2019 ~ Spring 2021
