Exhibitor’s Stories

The amazing effects of sunburned paper

The Sun Tanning Project was first conceived as an experiment. Immaculate sheets of paper were laid out in the sun, with glass stencils from calendars, pasta, and even beans and grains placed on them. The calendar was subtly burned onto the paper, and the pasta and crops that had shielded the direct sunlight also formed interesting shapes and patterns on the sunburned paper. Rather than emphasizing a large enough scale, efficiency, and consistency for the output, the team at Taipei-based Pinmo Design Studio, led by Richard Wang, chose a different approach privileging bottom-up and grassroots-driven designs with a focus on the process and experience, as customers are welcome to do their own paper tanning. No two notebooks or calendars produced in this project were ever the same, and each embodied the spirit of leading a slow, simple, and peaceful life that is best exemplified with people in the countryside drying their gear, clothes, catches, or harvests in the sun.