“The Seedling” tells the tale of the life cycle of a world, beginning and ending with a small circular seed which represents the potential for life. As the world grows, ages and dies, it moves through several stages: the plant stage, the plant and people stage (people represented by their buildings and cities), the people stage (which could also be called post-plant), and the post-people stage. Plants and buildings evolve from page to page. Because civilization is part of the same continuum as nature, rather than being opposed to it, they are represented with artistic styles unified by their focus on the circle. The entire piece is constructed in the form of a semi-circular pop-up book. The repetition of circles is meant to metaphorically reference many round or cycling forms: planets, seeds, the universe, the cycle of seasons, the cycle of a day, and the cycle of life. Just like a planet, however, only half of the circle is ever in full light, though the half in shadow can be seen as each layer of paper casts its form on the layer beyond.

This piece uses 98 pieces. It is focused on the number seven, which was inspired by the Biblical story of creation in which the world was created in seven days. This world is not only born but also lives and dies in seven pages, the last page reverting it to its original seed-like form. Since the metaphorical circle is divided in two, seven is raised to the power of two and multiplied by two to obtain the total number of pieces. Also, if the pieces which form the title on the cover are not included, there are 77 pieces, which is literally two sevens written next to each other.

Paper was chosen mostly for its practical and aesthetic aspects–foldability and colors reminiscent of a flame flaring brighter and brighter before dying down again in the darkness of space–but also because of its tradition use in pop-up book format. This project is a book because books imply a sequential format, and it is difficult to view multiple pages at once, though the book can always be re-read (giving it a cyclical nature).

“The Seedling” is ultimately about hope. I offer hope that even after humanity is gone there will still be the potential for life, growth, and wonder in the universe.

How would it feel if you knew there was always the possibility someone was watching you? In the climate of today’s privacy and information security crises, this imaginary landscape is perhaps not so strange. In the panopticon, you are held captive. A constant presence over you are the ones within the tower, watching- but you cannot see them. The chains of physical imprisonment are replaced by ones of manipulation and fear, and there is no escape.

This panopticon is constructed from 131 pieces of clear and black acrylic. 131 is appropriate being both prime, reflecting the harsh concept which this piece explores, and palindromic, reflecting the symmetry of the piece. By far the most common shape used is the triangle- the visual strength of this polygon, and the sharp angles allow for the sculpture to take on a fortress-like form. The clear pieces represent everything that is under watch, especially the upright triangles immediately surrounding the center tower. These pieces are the only ones without symmetry in their orientation, as they represent the prisoners within the panopticon. The opaque black pieces represent those who are watching, and who cannot be watched themselves. These pieces are concentrated into two areas: the center tower, from which all of the “prisoner” pieces might be viewed, and the small pieces along the outside ring, which serve to convey the idea that there is no escape from the panopticon.

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“Earth’s Bones” is about soil erosion due to deforestation. By combining the shapes of a human rib cage and a mountain, this work intends to drive home the idea of a future where humans have taken so much form the environment that it has become barren, and is thus unable to sustain life. In the first six pictures, a white background is used to denote the sterility of the bone mountain, as nothing can grow due to the loss of topsoil. The last picture shows the contrast between the bone mountain and a healthy hillside, highlighting how much we have, and how much we have to lose.

The total number of parts in this piece is 98. Of significance are the 13 pieces making up the base, which create 12 pairs of ribs connected by a spine to create a rib cage. According to New York’s City Waste Services, recycling a ton of cardboard saves 17 trees. Thus, there are 17 cardboard trees on the mountain, in a misguided attempt to turn the cardboard back into trees that succeeds in form, but not function. On the topic of materials, Masonite was chosen for the bone mountain due to its color, which emulates the characteristic brown tone of dinosaur bones often seen in museums. Coincidentally, the joinery used to make the ribcage was inspired by the dinosaur models one can find at museum gift shops.

(Upon further research, the 17-tree figure many not be as accurate as previously thought.)

“Project: O2” showcases a hypothetical world in the year 2098 where urbanization has taken over. Throughout the years, the rain forest has slowly been destroyed and natural environments have been obliterated by man. But despite this grim future, there have been steps taken to resist the environmental destruction–laboratories like the one show above have been created to produce artificial trees that yield a fresh supply of synthetic air.

The darker lab walls were used to show contrast to the clear, hopeful (and partially-rusted) tree, and the dead looking leaves were used to really highlight the bleak situation the fictional world is enduring. The clear, sleek acrylic was used to give the laboratory and the man-made tree a futuristic look. Overall, this piece contains 199 pieces, including both acrylic parts and paper leaves. This seemingly incomplete number was chosen specifically to show how progress in the fictional world is being made; however, there is still some way to go before the world becomes, in a sense, whole again.