Material Exploration
This inquiry lead to d-limonene, a terpene solvent extracted from citrus peel, itself a byproduct of the juice industry. It dissolves Styrofoam on contact, producing a fast, fizzing change where the foam goes from its expanded state back to its simple form, plastic. Styrofoam, or expanded polystyrene (EPS), is made up of about 95-98% air, with the remaining 2-5% being polystyrene (PS) plastic. The solvent strength of d-limonene releases the trapped air, dissolving the material into a honey-like, viscous substance. The dissolved Styrofoam can be reshaped during the drying process, making it possible to mold it or mechanically recycle after dry.
The installation centers material life as a performance that can be witnessed, a live dissolution activated by the artist and carried out gradually over the run of the exhibition. The Styrofoam in this piece was collected from lab & street waste. It is dissolved by droplets of d-limonene inside an airtight system, built both to contain the solvent’s strong smell and to make the ratios visible.
The goal of the piece is to show the aliveness of a material. A material’s life cycle does not end when it is disposed of. In fact, its life has just begun. This work puts into perspective the cultural projections placed onto materials like plastic, and how these cultural performances dissociate people from the true life cycle of the material – that it will, in fact, outlive us.