Violacein in 3D
Digital fabrication meets Biofabrication
To better understand how a more-than-human design approach unfolds in the context of digital fashion, this project bridges crafts, biofabrication and digital fabrication to explore the agency of and partnerships between different forms of intelligences. The advent of increasingly independent-like operating software and hardware requires a shift from humans delegating work to technologies, to co-performing activities and shaping them in the act (Bridle, 2022; Giaccardi and Redström, 2020, p.40). And if design is conceived as the shaping of matter, processes, and energy (St.Pierre, 2019, p.92), then the occupation of design not only extends to new technologies but also to other intelligences such as fungi, plants, and bacteria. How do these dynamics come together in a project where traces made by bacteria dye inform what is 3D printed?
Maja Blom’s starting point was the role that nature, both as a concept and reality, historically played in art and design. Nature served as a source of inspiration and guiding principles. However, since the industrial revolution, there has been a detachment from nature in western society, driven by the demands of consumerism and unsustainable economic pressures. This disconnection hinders the potential for sustainable and innovative design solutions that align with nature.
Through experiments with the bacteria “Janthinobacterium Lividum”, Blom has been trying to find common ground between living species, digital interfaces, the mechanical process of 3d printing and herself. She examined the use of shibori folding techniques, and partnered up with bacteria, software, and 3D printers. The artist collaborated with Janthinobacterium Lividum, a bacterium that produces a violet-colored biodegradable pigment. A piece of cloth, folded with a shibori technique, soaked in liquid medium and sterilized, was introduced to the bacterium. Depending on how the piece of cloth is folded or placed, the growth medium, incubation conditions, and time, Janthinobacterium Lividium colors (parts of) the cloth violet blue and follows its own path. The visual result of this collaboration was photographed, edited, and translated into a STL file. By using fabric as a scaffold, the 3D print retained the flexibility and fluidity of the initial bacterial dye. The outcome is an interactive design that reflects partnership, surprises, movement, chance, and control.
References:
Bridle, James (2022) Ways of Being: Beyond Human Intelligence Penquin Books: London.
Giaccardi, Elisa, & Redström, Johan (2020). Technology and More-Than-Human
Design. Design Issues: history/theory/criticism, 36(4), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_a_00612
St. Pierre, Louise (2019) “Design and Nature: a History” in Kate Fletcher, Louise St.
Pierre, Mathilda Tham (eds) Design & Nature: a Partnership (Routledge: London). pp. 92-108.
