Not Only Rings
I 3D printed 100 rings and placed them in different locations around the UW-Madison campus: the Art Loft, the Humanities Building, and the School of Human Ecology. People could exchange them for any carry-on item they thought was equivalent. I was impressed by the information and romantic expression contained in the language of flowers that coincide with the purpose of communicating. So the design of the rings was inspired by the Victorian flower code I found in a 19th-century book: daisy for "cheerfulness" and rose for "the smile I aspire to."
The objects that people traded with me are "things holding stories"; they were used and carried, reflect the history of their owners, and reflect people's views on "value." I want to explore the immaterial value of the rings. The item's value is given in the exchange process and assigned to its social life. The whole process is not just an exchange of objects but an exchange of intimacy. The collection includes money with a note, a polaroid, coins, candies, candy wraps, keychains, a coupon, a business card, a condom, small stone sculptures, a children's drawing, a hand sanitizer, a paper fortune teller, and pens.
Selected objects displayed in the “Question Things” exhibition in Center for Design and Material Culture, UW-Madison SoHE, 2022