Material beginnings
Crafted X Grown
Do we need all our materials to live forever?
A material can outlive the brief moment for which it was made. Material Beginnings starts with this mismatch, asking how the lifespan of an object might better relate to its use.
The collection brings together experiments in mixing, casting, and growing bio-based materials. Gelatine, agar, and alginate become films, flexible casts, and threads, while kombucha cultures produce sheets that are harvested and dried. Onion skins, pomegranate peels, and leftover dye baths connect these experiments to materials already at hand.
Between crafting and growing, making becomes a negotiation: shaping matter directly, setting conditions for growth, and learning from what emerges.
Colour as a starting point
Natural dyes and inks tested on different fabrics produced a palette of tones and textures. Leftover dye baths then entered the biomaterial recipes, carrying colour from one experiment into the next.
Shaped by hand, shaped by growth
Mixing and casting offered one way to shape the materials; cultivating kombucha offered another. Across films, threads, and sheets, these studies explore the space between directing a material and allowing it to develop.
2023
Fabricademy, BioChromes & BioFabricating Materials
Natural dyeing, biomaterial casting, and kombucha cultivation
