L I V I N G L I G H T D R E S S
The Living Light Dress was a living garment – the third in the series of bioluminescent pieces produced with Dr Bernardo Pollak and Dr Anton Kan (University of Cambridge). We worked with Photobacterium kishitanni, on a nutrient enriched agar and raw wool fabric. This piece was made specifically for Wired magazine. The photoshoot was carried out over a period of two days; on day 1, the garment was photographed on the professional model. In the evening, we coated the material in the warm agar and nutrient solution, placed it on the mannequin and left it overnight.
The bacterial glow began the next morning, and the photographer captured images of this glowing phenomenon at that point. The images from the two days were then digitally imposed – so this hyperreal image shows a speculative design. The actuality of a human wearing the living bacterial garment was deemed too hazardous by the scientists.
The piece is therefore posed as a provocation to questions which futures we see for fashion and wearable biological technology, and was not intended as a wearable garment. The piece is temporal, living only for 3 days or as long as we continue to feed the colony, which shows us it is living through its light emittance.
LIVING LIGHT DRESS
© Victoria Geaney, Bernardo Pollak and Anton Kan, all rights reserved, photography by Chris Hoare
Bioluminescent bacteria - Photobacterium kishitanni - dress
Victoria Geaney, Bernardo Pollak (Cambridge University) and Anton Kan (Cambridge University)
Featured in Wired Magazine, Feb 2017
Photography: Chris Hoare
Model: Manuella Gomide at d1 Models
Hair and make-up: Victoria Winfield