2021
2026

In Return - An adaptive reuse of amate paper and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY), exploring material cycles across time

Sicheng Yu

Sicheng Yu

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

2021
2026

In Return - An adaptive reuse of amate paper and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY), exploring material cycles across time

Sicheng Yu

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

2021
2026

In Return - An adaptive reuse of amate paper and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY), exploring material cycles across time

Sicheng Yu

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

, 

Pratt Institute

This project reinterprets ancestral materials through adaptive reuse, transforming them into a contemporary lighting object that evokes both origin and renewal. Amate paper, a traditional plant-fiber material used in Mesoamerican cultures to record stories and rituals, is reconfigured here as a vertical spatial structure. Instead of serving as a surface for writing, it rises in fragmented forms, enclosing and shaping the space of light. At the center, a lampshade made from kombucha SCOBY introduces a living, bio-fabricated material. Through variations in thickness and fermentation, the SCOBY produces a gradient glow from soft yellow to deep amber, recalling the warmth of fire. The work brings together materials from different temporal and cultural origins, suggesting a shared material ancestry rooted in cellulose. By presenting old materials in new forms, the installation creates a sense of quiet stability and ancient familiarity. Here, old becomes new, and new becomes old-forming a continuous cycle. Light emerges not as a break from the past, but as its transformation.

In Return - An adaptive reuse of amate paper and bacterial cellulose (SCOBY), exploring material cycles across time