Most 24-year-olds go to Thailand looking for a good time. But Ori Orisun Merhav was looking for a particular type of insect when she boarded the plane to Bangkok in November 2020. She had been in touch with a company that specialises in shellac, a material made from a natural polymer produced by the lac beetles of northern Thailand.
Merhav, 28 and diminutive, is dressed in off-white dungarees over a crumpled white T-shirt, her dark hair hidden under a bright vintage scarf. Around her are the results of the journey she made four years ago: near-transparent blossoming like huge flowers. They are made of dozens of fine bubbles, which Merhav blows from melted shellac in the same way as glass. Each takes up to five days to make. Some are fitted with lightbulbs, giving off a gentle golden glow. Others are clustered into a trailing chandelier that hangs with rococo joie de vivre above a table. All will be on show at the PAD art and design fair in London (October 8-13), on the stand of gallerist Sarah Myerscough.