[Project completion 2014]
The relationship between material and process is explored in this series of experimental bacterial prints grown on silk scarves. Driven by the tension between precise laboratory protocol and the creative tendency that often employs an intuitive approach, textile manipulation vis-à-vis The Fold becomes key to developing a new aesthetic language.
Through a deliberate resistance to deviate from the standardisation of a petri dish, origami-like folds allow a whole scarf to fit within the confines of a 150 mm diameter vessel. The results are an array of stunning mirrored prints that morph and shift as pigment secreted by bacteria diffuses through layers of inoculated silk habotai. Long after the peak of microbial activity is reached, a fine silk palimpsest serves as a record of what it was to live and dye in 7 days.
This project is a collaboration with Professor John Ward, The Ward Lab, University College London.
Professor of Synthetic Biology for Bioprocessing, The Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering, Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London
See more here.