The Laser Dye Project merges alternative photography with digital fabrication by producing cyanotype prints (New Cyanotype and Vandyke Brown) on sewn garments made from natural fibers or delicate, uneven organic substrates. Using maskless laser exposure with a DIY programmable laser galvanometer system, the process translates light directly onto fabric without the need for physical masks. This approach not only allows large-scale exposures but also enables multi-angle printing with several laser machines.

The project has been widely recognized: it was awarded Selected Work in the YouFab Global Creative Awards (2015), named among the Top 50 Selected Works of YouFab, and chosen as one of the Top 10 Projects of Reshape 2019. It went on to win First Prize at Reshape 19 and the Digital Fabrication Prize at Altaroma Rome Fashion Week (2020), presented by Fondazione Mondo Digitale.

One branch of the project, If Time Was Wearable and Foldable, was developed in collaboration with fashion designer Yiyu Chen and photographer Bo-Lin Lo. Chen designed garments using square-based patterns to explore the optical properties of laser dye on textiles shaped through origami-like folding, while Lo’s photography captured the resulting interplay of light, fabric, and form.