Joy Hsiao
Artists
Joy Hsiao
Math Teacher/Pastry Student
Bard High School Early College Queens/The Institute of Culinary Education
New York City, USA
Statement
I am a math teacher, an avid origami folder, and am finishing up a year-long pastry and baking program at a culinary school. I wanted to explore and expand on the materials used to make origami, and the use of edible materials was a natural extension of my newly acquired skills.
Artworks
Five Interlocking Tetrahedra, Edible Edition
14 x 14 x 14 cm
Wafer paper (top left), gum paste (bottom left), dark and white chocolates
2020
A typical five-interlocking-tetrahedra is a modular origami made with 30 pieces of 1x3 rectangular paper. It can be a challenge to assemble the pieces. The use of edible materials presents additional challenges. Wafer paper cracks easily during folding and dissolves when an adhesive is applied. The royal icing used to glue together gum paste units takes many hours to dry. Therefore, drying each newly added modular piece required various temporary structural support and endless patience. Modular units made with tempered chocolate connect quickly; however, each modular piece had to be cast in a homemade mold and painstakingly shaved to shape in a cold room before assembled.