Origami artist hopes her masks will slow spread of COVID-19
Now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are recommending people cover their faces when going out to run errands, face masks are in high demand. But they're becoming harder to find, leading to DIY versions of the personal protective equipment.
Jiangmei Wu, an assistant professor of design at Indiana University, is using the ancient art of origami to help solve the problem. She's created a prototype design for a face mask to help protect individuals from spreading the novel coronavirus. They can be made at home using paper, fabric and other materials.
Wu posted a video on YouTube showing how to make these masks by hand, but her long-term goal is to have them mass-produced by a manufacturer to provide more personal protective equipment around the world.
Artists, Wu said, tend to be proactive about solving societal problems using their work — and during the current crisis, they've stepped up.
"I believe that there are many artists out there right now working very hard during this crisis in this community, and I’m not the only one," she said in an email. She's heard of artists making 3-D designs, and crafters switching from making quilts to making masks to help.
In Wu's work, she likes to combine origami with other practical applications. She said it's evolved in recent years to become more than just an art form — now, it integrates areas including math, engineering and technology.
"I’m interested in its artistic form and hoping to combine it with fashion," she said. "I’m interested in its practicality as a design and engineering object in which I have to consider the integration of the form, the material, and its function as a personal protection device against COVID-19." She said in the past, origami has been used in practical applications, including heart stents, antennas and solar arrays. She's used it herself to make lampshades.
Before the current pandemic, it wasn't typical to see U.S. grocery store shoppers wearing face masks while picking out produce. But it's more common in Asian cultures, Wu said. During flu season, it might even be part of a person's daily outfit.
"It is generally believed that the act of wearing face masks during a pandemic should be a societal act in China," she said. "It is an individual’s responsibility to wear a mask to protect oneself and also protect the others, considering the fact that the virus could spread among non-symptomatic carriers."
In discussions with her Chinese friends and colleagues, Wu also has found a connection between face masks and aesthetic and cultural traditions. That may be another reason it was more common to wear them, even before the current outbreak.
"Traditionally, hiding one’s body parts with clothing, instead of revealing one’s body parts, is related to showing restraint and good temperament," she said. "It is not uncommon to see movie stars and internet stars covering up their faces with masks and sunglasses." Asian women who wear masks also may be interested in protecting their faces from sun damage, she said.
Wu also attributes the social norm of wearing face masks to environmental aspects of living in certain places. "Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, people in China, particularly the ones who live in large cities that often have pollution problems, have incorporated face masks as part of their daily outfits."
In January, Wu started to become concerned about her friends and family in China. But now, they're worried about her. At first, she said, "I felt that I was so lucky to be here in the U.S. But now things have taken a 180 degree turn."
To help cope, she's been keeping herself busy, and her mask design is part of that. She hopes that she can find someone in Bloomington to help her provide masks for free to the public.
"I do believe in wearing a mask when I’m out in the public. I know if I wear a mask, I will protect myself and others," she said. "I think we really need to provide free masks to everyone in this community, especially with the peak of COVID-19 approaching in a few weeks."