MANTIS

Mantis is a multicolored silicone bag inspired by the praying mantis. Cast from pigmented silicon in a 3-part mold, the piece plays with texture, form, and color to evoke its zoomorphic inspiration. A layered silicon casting process was developed to achieve localized color variation, allowing the material to reflect the translucency of the praying mantis, while its ability to capture fine detail allowed mantis-inspired features to be embedded directly into the surface.The bag is adorned with features drawn from the mantis, including orange and purple spikes inspired by its forelegs and yellow bumps from its abdomen. The glowing blue sphere at the center of the bag recalls the mantis's distinctive eyes. The resulting object invites interaction through a contradiction between appearance and tactile experience: what initially appears rigid and protective reveals itself to be soft and flexible, mirroring the tension between fragility and predation found in the insect itself.