Script Tablet

Artefact 9June 2024

A slab of amber-tinted bio-resin that holds a handwritten page like an insect in fossil resin. The script stays legible at the surface and blurs with depth, so the text reads as an archive and an object at once.

Amber leather-like tablet covered in handwritten Russian text on a white background

Glowing amber figure torso printed with TRIAR and ribbed shadows

Seated skeletal figure with tattoo-like drawings and TRIAR on its glowing amber torso, against white cloth

Overlapping translucent sheets in amber, orange and green lit from behind

Contributors

Materials

Bio-based epoxy resin
Recycled paper pulp
Iron gall ink
Beeswax finish

A record is only as permanent as its container. Cast in resin, a passing note becomes an artefact.

01
Shaping the idea
Impulse: a brief to preserve everyday handwriting as a material.
02
Study fossil amber and parchment as references for translucency and age.
03
Choose bio-based resin tinted with natural pigments as the casting medium.
04
Material tests
Cast small tiles to test how paper and ink behave when sealed in resin.
05
Adjust the curing temperature to stop the ink from bleeding.
06
Tune the tint until the script stays readable through ten millimetres of resin.
07
Final object
Cast the full-size tablet in a silicone mould in two pours.
08
Sand and wax the surface for a soft, parchment-like finish.
09
Mount the tablet on a plain oak stand for display.

Material properties

Made of: Bio-based resin, paper pulp, iron gall ink, beeswax
Color: Amber, brown, black
Tactility: Smooth, waxy, cool, dense
Origin: Primary and secondary
Associations: Archive, manuscript, fossil
Size: [W × D × H cm]

Experience (object effect)

Cognitive: Time compression
Mode of interaction: See, read, touch, tilt
Emotional: Curiosity, calm

Context

Archives and libraries
Calligraphy
Material science

Themes

Memory and preservation
Writing as matter
Slow materials
Value of the ordinary

Artistic toolkit

Encapsulation
Material translation
Contrast of text and object

Technique

Resin casting
Mould making
Hand lettering
Sanding