Material Incubator

Toxicity and analogue photography are intimately linked: non-degradable chemical compounds are used in almost all analogue processes. Photography is entangled with toxicity not only through its chemical production processes, but also through the dominant socio-political power structures and harmful norms of defining, categorising, and creating the visible.

What if organisms could act as living sensors, and communicated with us through vivid colour changes? LCL’s are Flavobacteria-based Biosensors to Sense and Communicate Environmental Signals in Everyday Products.

A transition to a circular economy is needed to revolutionise the construction sector, making it more sustainable for both present and future generations. While the construction industry and the production of construction materials contribute to environmental pollution, they also offer great potential for addressing many environmental problems.

Contributing to the field of biodesign, this PhD research investigates the design potentials of mycelium materials for Living Fungal Artifacts (LFA). Living Aesthetics is a biodesign principle that examines the way humans experience living artefacts over time – for example, a living artefact’s gradual or immediate change in colour, form, or function, which offer novel responsive behaviour and interaction possibilities in design.

The research project “Living Gold” explores the application of mycelium material in goldsmithing, igniting inspiration and promoting new possibilities for bio-based design. Mycelium, nature’s hidden architect, holds immense potential for creativity and environmental consciousness. By tapping into this abundant resource, we reshape the boundaries of jewellery creation.

In Mythic we develop the best available mycelium biocomposite, which can be used as a circular, biodegradable insulation material in the construction industry. We focus on making mycelium biocomposite with thermal insulation and moisture absorption, as well as developing a more energy efficient, less water consuming, and faster production process. Economically, further information is needed to ensure that the material is more widely accepted across the market. Part of the Mythic project is to design the material in ways that encourage interest and desire for the material’s use within the home environment.

What (immersive) stories can be told in collaboration with living materials? In what ways can immersive storytelling explore and advance human collaborations with different living organisms (such as algae, fungi, bacteria, and plants) in experiments to co-create living materials and artefacts? How can immersive storytelling enable a necessary shift and expansion of perspectives  towards these different more-than-human worlds?

This research project aims to initiate a living learning laboratory in the garden of St. Joost School of Art & Design in Breda. In its present state, the garden might appear “perfect”, its lawn and plants neatly mown and maintained. However, this perspective is a human one, and arguably a dominant approach to relating with this ecosystem – defined as the sum of relationships. How might we develop dynamic, reciprocal relations with the ecosystem of this garden? What roles might humans play within this ecosystem? Who are the other actors*? And how do they interact?

To date, the human microbiome and its effect on the human body has not been taken into account in the process of designing possible future eating practices, including eating rituals and tools, although our diet style serves as a potent force reshaping the microbiome.  But, how would this new awareness about the human body that decentering our ownership of our body and perceiving the human body as an ecology affect our eating behaviour and practices?