#gelatinous

skirt by wilhelm, worn by Adeline Genée as Marie Taglioni in The Dancer's Adventure, London Coliseum, 1915. Net skirt trimmed with gold sequins and elliptical sequins, the underskirts trimmed with gold tinsel ribbon and elliptical gold sequins, V&A collection. there's something fun about a garment for a facsimile romantic ballerina illustrating wandering thoughts about the pursuit of imitating the sun's mirroring.

a few years ago i was combing through the FIT online collection, and stumbled upon a dress from the early 20th century upon which gelatin sequins were sewn. the description alluded to their material ephemerality, which coincidentally also meant that they were excellent at recording fleeting moments if said moments combined moderate amounts of chaos with humidity. with pressure from the elements, gelatin sequins might swell or melt, registering the nervous hold of a clammy hand during a much anticipated dance, the energy of vigorous movement translated into sweat, the spill of a drink or the sky abruptly splitting open with torrential rain...

something else interesting about gelatin sequins is that they are incredibly difficult to find with certainty on digital archives. they are often classified weightlessly, when their precursors were made of much heavier metal —such a different effect upon the drape of a garment! any allusion to their materiality beyond their propensity to shimmer and being "sequin" is left mostly unexplored, which for a small object supposed to recapture the fleeting moment a surface is transformed into a glimmer, feels apt. dates becomes the only fact upon which to hazard a guess, leaving us with an approximative 50-90 year period to contemplate whether a photo captures a sequin made of metal, gelatin, celluloid or other more dispendious natural materials.

To make sequins, gelatin must be prepared in sheet form. Dick’s Encyclopedia of Practical Receipts and Processes of 1872 gives a description for producing gelatin wafers: “Dissolve fine glue or isinglass in water, so that the solution when cold may be consistent. Pour it hot on a plate of glass (previously warmed with steam and slightly greased) fitted in a metallic frame whose edges are just as high as the wafers should be thick. Lay on the surface a second glass plate, also hot and greased, so as to touch every point of the gelatine while resting on the edges of the frame. By its pressure the thin cake is rendered uniform. When the glass plates have cooled, the gelatine will be solid, and may be removed. It is cut into discs of different sizes by means of proper punches.” The gelatin sheet could be coloured by adding aniline dyes or other suitable colouring material. Gelatin sequins are described in a draper’s manual edited by William Murphy in 1914: “Sequins are little round disks made of celluloid or gelatin, but mostly of the latter substance, on account of its noninflammable nature. In the centre is a little hole through which the thread may be passed in order to affix them for ornamental purposes. They are made in black and all colours, in sizes ranging from 1/8 in. to 1/2 in. [0.3 to 1.3 cm] in diameter. —from "The Chemical Composition and Conservation of Late 19th and Early 20th Century Sequins" by Chris Paulocik and R. Scott Williams in Journal of the Canadian Association for Conservation, Volume 35.

Silk evening dress, woven silk with chiffon and sequins, made by Squire & Co., c.1900—bodice of silk embroidered with silver and pearl coloured sequins, front fastening, with a low scooped neck and elbow-length sleeves. The bodice has a fall collar with appliquéd floral embroidery, and a ruffle of finely pleated chiffon extending along centre-front closure, and finishing the sleeve edges. A section of net embroidered with sequins and with beaded fringe is attached around the shoulder line, falling loosely over the bodice and sleeves. The bodice is lined, boned, and has a waist tape printed with the name of the maker, Squire & Co.

You play as a gelatinous cube. Everyday you eat a real life snack that relates to a dungeon resident. You journal the experience from the cube's perspective, including drawing it in your cube and mapping the dungeon you are in

Day 1: Minotaur Warrior (stuffed bell pepper with cheese)

(minotaur because cheese, warrior because bell pepper is like armour)

This is one of many games we brought home from GAMA Expo 2024 where we were there as hosted media.