A biodesigner and engineer fascinated by how we can live more symbiotically through interspecies and intercultural collaboration.
Inspired by coral’s symbiotic relationships, Chris has developed a contemporary living material encapsulating bioluminescent micro-algae, which emits light in response to touch.
In collaboration with Polynesian artisans, traditional knowledge and science came together to co-create a series of artifacts which demonstrate how living materials can reconnect us to nature through interspecies and intercultural collaboration.
Year: 2024
Collaborators:
- Tekoui ‘Jéremie’ Tamari
- Tokainiua Jean-Daniel Devantine
- Hinatea & Moé Colombani
- Naumi ‘Mamie’ Tapi
Supporting Institutions:
- The Francis Crick Institute
- The Gump Station
- Tahitian History Society
- Centre de Métiers d’Art de la Polynésie française
- The Coral Gardeners
- The Atitia Center
- The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
Living materials’ abiltiy to grow, adapt, and heal has been used symbiotically by huans for thousands of years, however, they are now replaced by the more reliable and repeatable inert materials which dominate our day to day lives.
After a bioprospecting trip to French Polynesia in search of novel micro - organisms, Chris was inspired by the indigenous community’s connection to nature, as well as their positive perception of the scientific community., and wanted to see how design could bring these two worlds together.
Using bioluminescent algae, like those in symbiosis with corals, Chris developed a contemporary living material with the support of the Francis Crick Institute for biomedical discovery.
This ethereal material emits light in response to touch. The micro-organisms are encapsulated in a way which allows them to live, sequester carbon, and emit light for more than 6 months; needing only sunlight in return.
In collaboration with three different polyneisan artisans, who have a deep understanding of the symbiotic relationships in the reefs around their islands, a series of artifacts were co-created using the bioluminescent living material.
Each of these objects was found to create awe-inspiring and transcendant experiences, which Chris hopes can inspire those who expereince the project to live more symbiotically with other cultures and species.
With living materials, similar to Polynesian traditional knowledge which exists only in living memory, there is a risk that it may die. Hoever it is this fragility that allows it to adapt, react, and interact - and is what makes this temporal state of livingness so beautiful.