SYMBI
a calming tactile ball made from bacterial cellulose and aquafaba/algae bioleather.
Anthropocentric concern with human health has made us question the world we have shaped through design.
Symbi explores how we might experience chronic pain (focusing on trigeminal neuralgia/nerve pain) regarding adapting material ecology to a new holistic understanding of ourselves
- through touch and a soft, calming, tactile feeling.
The material was made using fermentation processes and was grown by a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY).
The other material was developed from chickpea water (aquafaba) and algae.
Natural colouring comes from charcoal and hibiscus plant.
The necessity of finding alternatives to currently available PVC and PU-based non-biodegradable vegan leathers has led to exploring the potential of utilising commonly perceived as waste bacterial cellulose film from kombucha drink and waste aquafaba.
The inside of the ball is stuffed with kapok - an extremely soft alternative to a polyester filling that comes from the fibres of a kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra).
Our material culture is almost entirely dependent on oil and coal as a key raw materials.
Most of our everyday objects contain chemicals derived from fossil fuels.
Many of us carry traces of human-made compounds.
Symbi is an invitation to look at alternative methods of creating ecological culture through ourselves.
Asking questions such as:
Can we feel calm while constantly feeling pain?
How touch makes us feel? How different those sensations could be for a person that is chronically ill?
How do we look at our material culture through new material ecology? How do we perceive materials?
How to navigate complex relationships with enviroment by understanding symbiotic connections?
How to see microorganisms as allies for practices of co-designing?
Nowadays, design might gather more questions than answers but should be understood as a navigation of finding common issues, preoccupations and challenges.
New materials and collaborating with living organisms through symbiotic connections is a step forward in creating sustainable design transitions.
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