BRIEF — Design a product/experience using bioplastics.
GROUP — Nayla, Ann, Hannah, Tanvi.
Overview
Our starting point was to explore bioplastics made from algae and pork gelatine. We divided up into groups of four. I chose to work with people whom I had never worked with before. This project was supposed to be held at GreenLab, which was a refreshing change from working in the studio. GreenLab also had loads of amenities for prototyping which we took advantage of.
Andy, from GreenLab, gave us a lot of examples of how algae bioplastics were being used in the world. Afterward, we each made one sheet of the gelatine bioplastic and different textures for the Algae bioplastic. We kept it in the dehumidifier so that it could dry overnight. We were a little disappointed to see that they were still wet the next day. Discussing how circular economies work, we came up with two existing examples of companies that follow the circular economy. The third example had to be a product of our own which we could fit into a circular economy.
Idea generation
An interesting conversation about the circular economy of humans led us to our idea. The decomposition of humans influenced us in learning about religious beliefs and how traditions come in the way of bodies ultimately giving back to the environment. Interestingly, Buddhists in Tibet believe in souls, and that the body is an empty vessel. They perform sky funerals, where birds, especially vultures, can consume it. In Christianity, there is a burial in the coffin, which does not help decompose the body. In Hinduism, the body is incarcerated turning the body to ashes, which are later scattered into any water body.
We thought about how to create a circular economy for the human body, as we use so many resources from the environment and it is unfair to not give back. We started speculating a future where a new tradition is formed during burials. Our inspiration came from the fact that bodies are dressed in their finest clothes during burials. We wanted to create a suit that would help the body decompose faster, as it usually takes 8 to 12 years for a body to fully decompose excluding the bones.
Process
We did not have enough resources and wanted to be conscious of them to make the whole suit, so we decided to make a glove and sleeves to demonstrate the concept. We tried 3 different ways to make the glove. In the bioplastic mix, we put a little more glycerin to make it stick better. We also put seeds into it. The seeds would grow into saplings with the nutrients provided by the human body. First, we filled a glove with water and coated it with oil. Then we poured the hot bioplastic liquid onto it and left it to dehumidify.
The second we dipped in a bowl of bioplastic and left it to dry.
For the third glove, we traced my hand onto the bioplastic sheet, and cut it out. Ann then stitched the two together and made a sleeve glove.
Image credits - John Fass
The outcome of the first glove was really beautiful but it tore a little while trying to take the glove off. The second glove had still not dried by the time of presentation. The third glove, which Ann stitched fit perfectly. For the rest of the suit, we got silk and made that into a dress. We also made jewelry from the rest of the bioplastic and attached that to the hotspots of the human body which decompose the fastest.
First image credits - John Fass
Final presentation
The idea behind our concept was to reflect on a new tradition of a death ritual. I chose to dress up in the whole suit and pretend to be a dead body. Nayla, Hannah, and Ann were going around chanting. After a while, I pulled flowers out of my sleeve to demonstrate new life growing from the nutrients of my body.
Both Image credits - John Fass
Feedback
Our feedback on our presentation was quite positive. Our cohorts liked the idea of us continuing the post-human theme. There were a few remarks about being naked while wearing the suit and how that would affect religion. Sarah made an interesting remark about how we can attach the hotspots in places that do not decompose fast so that they get a head start as well.
Takeaways
As this project was about collaboration, I learned a lot about effective communication and how multi-culture backgrounds can structure a design project. I also discovered how to divide work productively and work through individual strengths. I think we could have managed our time better as the sheets did not dry. We did not take into account the unpredictability of the material.
I learned about different materials and how they can help us think about a speculative future. We also thought of how this project altered the design process for us by having the material decided for us.
I also related this project to “Biophilia — Organ crafting” by Veronica Ranner. This project gave me a deeper understanding of understanding how to include materiality in a speculative future. The way the silk hearts were photographed also gave us an idea of trying to perform a death ritual.
References
Forlano, L., 2017. Posthumanism and design. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 3(1), pp.16–29.
Ranner, 2011 (ongoing), Biophilia — Organ crafting.
Stelarc - Making art of the human body
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