Beetroot, Sugarcane, Paper

Strata of memory

This material is the first part of ongoing research on pulping natural fibres to create biomaterials for art-making through DIY and craft methods.
Working with hand-created pulp materials involves engaging directly with the lively matter of fibres, invisible life forms, and microorganisms interacting with the skin, creating a profoundly somatic experience. This intimate, bodily, reciprocal engagement with other materialities allows unregulated exchanges that escape human control to foster different kinds of knowledge. It enables other narratives to emerge and pathways to open, leaving room for failure or unexpected results. Working with lively matter requires patience, cooperation, and acceptance of failure, as these processes operate on a non-human scale of time, prioritising mutual learning and growth over productivity. This exploration fosters a caring, more-than-human, collaborative approach to the materials we use, focusing on sustainable processes and effects. The artistic process becomes instrumental in creating meaningful materials that embody their origins—locally sourced natural fibres and water—and their trajectories, shaped by entangled agencies beyond the human. These materials acquire additional relational layers of meaning and are allowed free-forward development, embracing the aesthetics of decay.
In 2019, supported by a one-year research grant from the Norwegian Association of Craft Artists (NKH), artist Elena Redaelli created the installation Strata of Memories for the "Madou Sugar Industry Art Triennial" in Madou, Taiwan. The project experimented with recycled paper, beetroot, and sugar cane bagasse to develop a site-responsive installation. The work explored the hidden stories embedded in Madou's landscape through an imaginary architecture crafted from sugar-handmade paper. This four-month durational performative act reflected Tsung Yeh's labor history, with sugar cane bagasse and beet pulp symbolising the raw materials central to sugar production across Europe and Asia. Over time, this metaphorical landscape transformed, embracing decay as it was exposed to the elements, highlighting themes of impermanence and change.
During the summer production of the installation, the artist discovered the potential of beetroot fermentation. Leaving dry beetroot pellets soaking over a weekend in the studio resulted in spontaneous fermentation, creating a thick brine. The rehydrated beetroot fibres became a malleable mass, adding strength and ductility to the handmade sugar paper. This discovery sparked interest in researching how yeast could produce organic acids and proteins from beetroot waste for artistic use. The pulping experimentation continued in various settings, often with locally sourced materials, profoundly involving the specificity of land and its stories. In 2024, pulping has taken on new meaning as the artist investigates the transformation process' invisible components. This exploration seeks to understand how creators and their matters of concern are mutually involved and transform each other. The artist uses simple equipment and natural processes to promote hand-making and DIY techniques as micropolitical acts. An ethical circle is entered by creating art materials locally in a mundane environment with their hands. Choosing locally sourced biomaterials allows conversing with and understanding the material construction of immediate reality. The embodied knowledge of ritualised gestures situates the work and the thought processes. The materials used are not sterile; they are open to contamination, and the boundaries between different bodies are blurred. These materials explore how aesthetics are shaped by organic processes and how objects' post-life can extend and evolve in various environments beyond human control, leading to spontaneous mutations.

Making process

Materials
- Recycled paper, natural recycled fibres like cotton or plant fibres like mulberry tree bark
- Beetroot pellets
- Sugar cane bagasse
- Water
- A blender
- A large tub or basin
- A deckle and mould
- Sponges and towels

Step-by-Step Procedure
- Prepare the Pulp
Shred the Paper: Tear the recycled paper into small pieces.
If using natural fibres, cut them into manageable pieces.
Sugar cane bagasse fibres, leftovers from the sugar industry production, are already very fine and can be used as they are.

- Soak the Material: Place the paper pieces or fibres in warm water for a few hours or overnight.
Natural fibres like mulberry bark need to be boiled and beaten before the fibres can be reduced into pulp.
Beetroot pellets are left to soak in warm water for three days. The pellet will rehydrate and grow in size. A big container is needed to avoid overflowing, and water must be added to cover the beetroot. At this stage, if the beets are still too big, they can be reduced by blending the wet fibres into shorter pieces. It depends on whether a smooth paste is needed or if bigger chunks of material would enrich the surface effects of the final piece. The pulp will ferment in three to five days, depending on the hit. When fermentation begins, the paste must be tested until it reaches the desired malleability. This paste can be used for sculpting. The fermentation provides easy manipulation, with the wet fibres aggregating easily and steadily. The paste can be used as a binder and strengthener for handmade paper, allowing for a firmer texture and organic surface effects.
- Blend: Put the soaked paper/fibres and the beetroot into a blender with plenty of water. Blend until you achieve a smooth, slurry-like consistency (the pulp).

- Set Up the Workspace
Fill the tub or basin with water, leaving enough room for the deckle and mould.
Add the pulp to the water and mix it evenly. The more pulp, the thicker the paper.

- Form the Sheet
Submerge the deckle and mould into the tub, with the screen side facing up.
Gently shake the deckle and mould underwater to distribute the pulp evenly across the screen. To form the sheet, lift the deckle and mould straight out of the water, letting excess water drain.
Press and Transfer
Lay a clean towel or piece of felt on a flat surface.
Carefully flip the deckle and mould onto the towel, pulp side down.
Lift the deckle, leaving the wet paper sheet on the towel.

- Dry the Paper
Allow the paper to air dry completely, either flat or hung up. Depending on humidity and thickness, drying may take 24–48 hours.

- Final Touches
Once dry, peel the paper off the towel or felt carefully.
Trim or shape the paper as desired

- Layering
The obtained sheet of paper should then be layered on a wooden structure or tied securely with natural strings to prevent them from slipping away.

- Collaborative aesthetics
The layered sheets can be left outdoors to allow the environment to interact with their substance. The handmade paper will not dissolve, but will gradually transform its appearance. The object's aesthetic escapes human control, evolving at its own pace, slowly decaying and mutating through the spontaneous actions of weather, small insects, and other natural forces.

Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.