Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ by Ze Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 ናይ ሓጺን ሽልማት A' Design Award in ንድፊ ስነ-ጥበብን ምትካል ስነ-ጥበብን Competition Category.

ሓጺንስነ-ጥበብ· 2026

Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ

by Ze Zhou

Client: Zoe Ze Zhou

ናይ ሓጺን ሽልማት A' Design Award Winner in ስነ-ጥበብ Category

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The Design

About Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ

ሲንተቲክ ብሉ (Synthetic Blue) ንዓሳ ጄሊፊሽ ዝመስል ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ እዩ። እዚ ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ ምሉእ ብምሉእ ካብ እንደገና ዝተኣከቡ ተደርበይቲ ናይ ፕላስቲክ መሳርሒታት መግቢ ዝተሰርሐ ኮይኑ፡ ብሙቐት ተቐይሮም ኣብ ረዚን (resin) ብቐዋሚ ዝተሸኽሉ እዮም። እቲ ቅርጺ ጉልላት ብጽቕጠትን ቁጽጹር ዝተገብረሉ ሙቐትን ዝተፈጥረ ኮይኑ፡ ንባዮሎጂያዊ ሜምብረናት ዘዘኻኽሩ ናይ ገጽ ጠባያት ዓቂቡ ይርከብ። እቲ ስራሕ ኣብ ብዕንጨይቲ ዝተቐርጸ ዘይዓሚቕ ናይ ረዚን ገበላ ዝዓረፈ ኮይኑ፡ ኣንጸባራቒ ናይ ማይ ገጽ የመልክት። ተዓዘብቲ ነቲ ነገር ኣቐዲሞም ከም ባሕራዊ ህይወታዊ ፍጡር ይርእይዎ፡ ደሓር ግን ነቲ ዝተደርበየ ፕላስቲክ የለልይዎ፤ እዚ ለውጢ እዚ ድማ ጉሓፍ ኣብ ህይወት ውቅያኖስ ንዘለዎ ጽልዋ ኣቓልቦ ይስሕብ።

The Recognition

About the ናይ ሓጺን ሽልማት A' Design Award

Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ ናይ ሓጺን ሽልማት A' Design Award ዝዓወተ እዩ፣ ካብ ጽቡቕ ዝተዳለዉ ፍጥረታት ዝጽበዩ ሞያውን ኢንዱስትሪኣውን ጠለባት ንዝመላኡ ጽቡቓት ዲዛይናት ዝወሃብ ክቡር ኣፍልጦ። ዘዓወቱ ሓጺን ዓቢ ክእለት፣ ልዑል ፍሉይነት፣ ክኢላዊ ርድኢትን ፈጠራዊ ዓቕምን ፈጣርዮም የርእዩ። Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ ብብዙሕ ዝተመነየ፣ ዝደነቐን ዝፈተዎን፣ ተግባራውን ሓድሽን ፍጥረት ክኾን ይጽበ። እዚ ዝዓወተ ዲዛይን ናይ ሓጺን ሽልማት A' Design Award ንዝበለጹ ልምድታት ኢንዱስትሪ የጣምር፣ ምስ ፍልጠትን ተውህቦን ዝተኣሳሰሩ ብቑዓት ቴክኒካውያን ባህርያት ድማ ኣለዎ። Synthetic Blue ቅርጻ-ቅርጺ ብጥንቃቐኡ ይኽበር፣ ንዓለም ዝሓሸ ቦታ ክትኸውን ዝሕግዙ ምምሕያሻት መዓርግ ህይወት ንምቕራብ ድማ ዝተዳለወ እዩ።

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The sculpture is constructed entirely from reclaimed disposable plastic utensils that have been thermally reshaped and permanently embedded in resin.

The piece rests within a shallow resin basin framed in wood. Integrating material recycling, biomimetic morphology, and controlled thermoplastic manipulation, the work synthesizes sustainability, process-driven form, and ecological narrative into a cohesive sculptural object.
Dimensions & Packaging: The object is positioned within a shallow resin basin framed by wood, simulating a reflective water surface. This base establishes spatial context while stabilizing the structure.

The project merges material recycling, biomimetic morphology, and controlled thermoplastic manipulation into a single cohesive object.
Tags: Art，Sustainable Design，Environmental friendly，Product Design
Production Technology: The sculpture is constructed entirely from reclaimed disposable plastic utensils that have been thermally reshaped and embedded in resin. The dome structure is formed through compression and controlled heat processes, preserving surface textures that resemble biological membranes.
Design Challenge: The primary challenge was balancing structural stability with organic irregularity. Thermoplastic materials deform unpredictably under heat, requiring iterative experimentation to maintain translucency without
collapse.

Another challenge involved achieving water-like optical depth within a shallow resin base while preserving clarity and minimizing air bubbles.
Research: It explores thermoplastic reconfiguration and biomimetic form translation. Through experimental heating and compression methods, disposable plastic utensils were transformed into semi-organic structures while maintaining evidence of their original function.

The research investigates how material memory, translucency, and deformation can simulate marine morphology. The work also examines visual misidentification as a design strategy, translating ecological phenomena into object-scale form.
Inspiration: Sea turtles often mistake floating plastic for jellyfish, leading to fatal ingestion. Synthetic materials have infiltrated natural ecosystems.

Synthetic Blue emerges from this resemblance. Instead of symbolically depicting marine life, the project reshapes discarded plastic utensils into a form that mimics the fragile translucency of a jellyfish.

By transforming waste into a seductive marine apparition, the work exposes the paradox of artificial beauty and environmental harm.
Project Duration: Designed and fabricated in California, USA, 2024–2025.
Exhibited in 2025 at:
• Some Like It Hot, California Creative Arts, CA
• Pocket Gallery, Burbank, CA
Operation Flow: Viewers first encounter the sculpture as a delicate marine organism due to its translucent surface and aquatic coloration.

As proximity increases, the identity of disposable plastic materials becomes recognizable. This perceptual transition — from aesthetic admiration to material awareness — forms the primary interaction mechanism.

The work operates through visual deception and revelation, mirroring the ecological misrecognition that inspired it.
Patents: Zoe Ze Zhou
Team Members: Zoe Ze Zhou
Image Credits: Zoe Ze Zhou