ori orisun merhav explores a future of multispecies design, where biological processes inform how we manufacture and inhabit the world.

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insects make the material for ori orisun merhav’s sculptures

Brussels-based designer Ori Orisun Merhav is experimenting with a natural polymer produced by tiny lac insects , transforming their resinous secretions into glowing sculptures and sculptural furniture. Through her research practice Made by Insects, she heats and blows the amber-colored material into clusters of translucent bubbles, some perched on branching steel structures, others suspended as elaborate chandeliers.

The material is known commercially as shellac, a substance typically used as a protective coating. Here in Merhav’s hands, it takes on a completely different spirit.

Her latest works extend the research into 3D printing and large-scale installations, imagining how an insect-produced material might become part of our built environment.…