O S C I L L A T O R I A   S U T U R E D

Oscillatoria Sutured is the second piece produced in collaboration with Dr Simon Park (University of Surrey). It is called ’oscillatoria’ after the species of bacteria and ’sutured’ to highlight the metaphoric cuts and rifts between the human and bacterial worlds. As cyanobacteria is self-repairing or self-healing, I laser-cut the material into a world map, a map of Pangea, a sutured skull, and a lace dress.  We then placed the laser-cut pieces into clear assay trays, poured in agar and nutrients, and I inoculated the trays with samples of cyanobacteria.  The poetic aim was that the cyanobacteria would be on either sides of these agar channels and would grow across, thus closing and healing these rifts or sutures.

From a design perspective, the self-repairing and sustainable biomaterial is interesting to consider as a future solution for seam-free garment production, or as a way to fasten garments in order to perfectly fit clothing to the wearer.