→ giac.cargo.site (For the best experience, it is recommended that you use a PC/laptop)
Sleep is such an essential pattern of life since it is so apparent. Yet, few people understand that sleep is a state feature - a space that crosses one's life's midpoints and very plainly reflects self-shape. Giấc, in dialogue with each being, conceives as a modest exhibition of boxes, the manifestation of those nights of sleep. Here, individuals are able to touch the parallels and variances, the subtleties, and the ambiguity in each unique tale through our boxes.
- Words by Han
The sleep stories were collected from interviews with people in our lives who were willing to share their experiences with us. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, as we rarely have the opportunity to talk about someone else's personal time, especially when it comes to sleep. It was fascinating to see how different people have unique sleep rituals and patterns. We learned that our sleep stories could reveal a lot about our personalities and lives. Knowing about the sleep habits of others was eye-opening, and it made us feel empathy towards them. The maker of each box, as well as the viewers, had different visual interpretations of each sleep story. That's why we decided to work on one box independently. Within the time frame of the program, we were only able to make one box each, so there were only four boxes representing four stories at the time of presentation. However, the project did not stop there.
Through Giấc, we hope to bring attention to the beauty and uniqueness of each person's sleep story, and to spark conversations about the importance of self-care and sleep hygiene.
Because the output of Giấc was physical, it provided an ideal playground for me to test different mediums. Visualizing abstract experiences, such as sleep rituals, was challenging, but through the process, I had fun learning about materials and craft techniques. Without a doubt, this project is a great opportunity, and I will continue to experiment with more boxes.
I started with digital sketches of the box. Relating to the sleep story, Kén would have 3 layers of box inside one another and it would open to both sides. In the innermost layer, there would be a sphere.
The main material of each component differed, which explained each timeline in the girl's life mentioned in the story.
The acrylic box represents the present time, specifically her apartment in Saigon. To create the structure of the box, I designed the dieline on my computer and then had it laser-cut on a 3mm acrylic sheet (fig 1.1). I wanted the pieces to have a rigid bond, so I made those zigzag joints and later attached them with super glue (although I regretted using it). I tested whether I had the zigzag joints correct, and they fit perfectly (fig 1.2). I wanted to add a yellow overlay color over the box to replicate the sleeping lamp during her sleep. At first, I thought of buying transparent colored acrylic sheets, but they were a lot more expensive than the clear ones, so I searched for an alternative solution. Car light cover stickers turned out to be the problem solver. I cut the stickers to the size of each piece and then stuck them to the inner face of the box. I added layers of orange stickers over the yellow one to mock the light spread (the closer to the center of the light, the brighter) (fig 1.3-1.5, 1.7-1.8). For better handling, I then glued the box together while still having the protective sheet and sanded down the sharp edges (fig 1.6). 2 sides of the box were connected using 3 removable clear plastic hinges (fig 1.7-1.8).
The fabric box represents her childhood sleeping in hammocks. When I thought of it, I became interested in the knots at two ends creating sharp marks on the fabric (fig 2.1). I wanted to recreate the look of those marks on the 2nd box. I found out about a Japanese fabric dyeing technique called Shibori, which uses ties and knots to create patterns on dyed fabric. There are many techniques of Shibori, but I only focused on doing arashi and itajime, the ones that create the pattern I wanted. I used raw cotton fabric that I already had at home (fig 2.2), cut it into various-sized pieces (fig 2.3), and used rubber bands, a mop stick, a vacuum cleaner extension tube (to save money), and wood plates/sticks to tie the fabric (fig 2.4). For the dyeing chemical, I used the Jacquard indigo tie-dye kit. The result came out really nice to me, although there were several issues like I hadn't prepared the fabric well, and the dye couldn't seep through some of the inner layers (fig 2.6).
I tested attaching the fabric to the acrylic box with tape first to see how I could create the fabric box structure (fig 5.1-5.2). I drilled 4 holes on each side of the acrylic box, 2 on the top and 2 at the bottom, to attach the fabric with yellow cotton threads (fig 5.3-5.4). I also used pieces of bamboo to reinforce the connected parts; without them, the fabric would not keep its position (fig 5.5). The fabric patterns are shown more clearly here.
Again, for cost-saving purposes, we didn't hire a studio, but we took the photos ourselves with anything that could support us. I tried two backgrounds, a white and a black one. I created a fake studio soft box by covering shipping foam sheets over a lamp and a desk lights...
