Ori Orisun Merhav

Made by Insects is an on-going research of the Designer and Material researcher Ori Orisun Merhav, seeking to form new relationships with the natural world.  Graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2022, she started broadening her network, partnering up with scientists and engineers with whom she is pushing the limits of the insect-produced polymer, lac. Envisioning a future that embraces bio-inclusivity, interweaving a diversity of unconventional sustainable materials into our interiors, Orisun aims to bridge the gap between laboratory experimentation and everyday existence. Manifesting this vision through a captivating array of objects, installations, and artefacts, she blurs the boundaries between sculpture and functionality, fiction and reality. Her inspiration sparks from the intricate constructions of the insects as they build their cocoons, Orisun foresees a metamorphosis, scaling up insect architecture into human dimensions. Utilising a blend of traditional glass blowing techniques as well as new technologies in 3D printing, the research has unlocked various innovations in the material. In 2023 she won the Bio Art and Design Award together with the scientist Miguel Castilho. Her works are showcased worldwide and now becoming a part of the Permanent Collection of Centre Pompidou in Paris.