Istota (ukr. creature/being) is the organic counterpart to It Feels (2018), continuing a material research inquiry into modular suspended structures that grow through intuitive assembly. Where It Feels attempted to create artificial life from permanent plastic waste, this sculpture builds an organic structure from perishable food material — tapioca pearls sourced locally in Thailand.
The process began without a predetermined form. Tapioca pearls (green and pink varieties) were boiled and solar-dried in 34°C heat for 24–48 hours, transforming them into thin, translucent sheets. These sheets were assembled piece by piece, suspended and layered through repetitive manual labor until the structure outgrew the studio. The form emerged through the material's own logic — how the sheets adhered, buckled, held weight, absorbed moisture.
Both works explore the same formal question through opposite materials: one resists decay (plastic straws, LED circuits, mechanical responsiveness), the other embraces it (food, climate, impermanence). The tapioca sculpture was left exposed to rain and humidity, refusing preservation. It decayed as part of its ritual logic — a structure with a lifespan, not an object meant to endure.
Created during a one-month residency in Samrit, Thailand, the work operates as material research conducted through process rather than concept. It follows what happens when you let a food material teach you, building a form that grows organically and dies naturally.
