Abstract
This research addresses the problem of material-waste reduction in creative practices by exploring biobased materials as a method to create eco-friendly, sustainable art installations. In this context, biobased materials are defined as organic materials that are produced from living matter such as bio leather, which is the bacterial cellulose grown from Kombucha, a probiotic cultured drink. The term ‘bacterial cellulose’ is used to describe the wet cellulose product produced from the Kombucha, and ‘bio leather’ to describe the dried material that is analysed.
The research follows a practice-based approach of experimentation by growing bacterial cellulose to understand how varied factors affect the bio leather and how it can be used in a physical object making practice. The results show that the biobased material can be manipulated in two stages: pre- and post- growing, to achieve different material properties that can be used to create multiple design effects.
This research shows that biobased materials can be used to create eco-friendly, sustainable art installations based on the process of growing the material and investigating its material properties, to develop more sustainable artefacts and art installations.
