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6. BioFabricating Materials

Research

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Black Bio Foil Top by Machteld Zee

This week was about making our own bioplastic materials. Bioplastics are crafted from renewable resources such as corn starch, pea starch, and vegetable fats and oils. Agar-agar bioplastic is created through the combination of water, glycerine, and agar powder, resulting in a flexible but non-elastic film-like plastic substitute. In contrast, conventional plastics, also known as petro-based polymers, are primarily derived from petroleum or natural gas.

I made a black top and a show piece with marbles. For the top, I chose to work with Agar-agar, a gelly-like substance derived primarily from red algae like Tengusa (Gelidiaceae) and Ogonori (Gracilaria), which serves as a thickening and gelling agent in culinary applications and can also be utilized in the production of bioplastics. For the show piece, I used the same recipe, but added gelatine and soap.



Black Translucent Bio Foil Top - modeled by Stephanie Johnson


Marbles: Lost and Found (2023). Agar, glycerine, gelatine, cotton fibers, charcoal, soap, and water, 15x30 cm.


24 core recipes (and a collection of made samples) for the Dutch context, Loes Bogers, 2020


Crafted BIO-plastic, -silicone, -resin, -foam FISH -leathers, -plastics | FRUIT-leather | ALGAE-leather, -yarn | BOMBIX-yarn (silkworms) | COCONUT-mat | PINATEX-leather Grown MICROBIAL-leather | FUNGII-leather | TEMPEH-leather | LAB GROWN-leather | SPIDER-silk


OPTIONS FOR MATERIALS


Bio -plastics -resins -silicones:

gelatine / agar / alginate / fruitwaste / tapioca / calcium chloride / starch / glycerine / water / vinegar / pigments & dyes / sodium carbonate / kombucha / mycelium / malt / yeast


Credit Aslı Aydın Aksan 2023


Check out this Open Source Recipe Book for Making Your Own Biofabric Materials, by Margaret Dunne


References & Inspiration

This week, we had a class outing to the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. There I saw this beautiful biofabricated bathing suit.


Bathing Suit by Dijuota Zilyte


For my top, I was inspired by Dries van Noten and Junya Watanabe.


Dries van Noten


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Junya Watanabe

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Junya Watanabe


Process and workflow

Ingredients, Materials and Tools You'll Need

The black bio foil top



How to create a black top made out of Agar Bio Foil - a fragile yet beautiful translucid material, use

-6 grams of agar agar

-6 grams of glycerine

-400 ml of water

For the shoulder pads, which needed to be sturdier, use

-22 grams of agar agar

-22 grams of glycerine

-300 ml water

-Charcoal and/or Indian ink


The shoulder pads are sturdier.


  1. Agar Agar Powder: You can find this in most grocery stores or online.
  2. Glycerine: Available at drugstores or online.
  3. Water
  4. A Pan
  5. A Stirring Spoon and/or whisk
  6. A Molding Tray
  7. Black coloring, such as Indian ink and/or charcoal
  8. Glue if you want to put the fragile bio foil pieces together


Work Process at Atelier Zee

Steps

  1. Prepare Your Molding Tray: I used an empty painting frame, duct taped around the edges.



  1. Mix the Ingredients: Add 6 grams of glycerine to 400 ml water, let that mix. Then add the agar agar powder. Stir to combine the agar agar, glycerine, and water thoroughly.

  2. Heat the Mixture: Pour the agar agar-water-glycerine mixture into a saucepan. Bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the agar agar is completely dissolved.


This is too much heat.

  1. Add Black Coloring (Optional): If you want your top to be black, you can add black coloring to the mixture. I added indian ink (6 drops) and charcoal (half a stick, crushed with the back of a spoon).

  2. Pour into Molding Tray: Carefully pour the hot mixture into your chosen molding tray. Make sure it's level to ensure an even thickness.

  3. Allow to Cool: Let the mixture cool at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Afterward, you can place it in the oven for faster setting. I put it in the oven at 50 degrees celcius for several hours and two days extra to dry - it does take a long time.

  4. Remove and Style: Once your agar agar top has completely set, gently remove it from the molding tray. You can experiment with different cuts, shapes, or designs based on your preference.

Note: because this agar biofoil is also made out of water, the material will shrink. To illustrate: this circle, when still wet, filled out the whole bottom surface of the pan:



Recipe for The Show Piece



Use:

-40 grams of gelatine

-6 grams of agar agar

-8 grams of glycerine

-200 ml water

-Marbles

-A table spoon of dish washing liquid

-Charcoal


Kombucha bio-leather



Kombucha fabric is a form of bio-leather. It originates from kombucha, a beverage made through the fermentation of tea, sugar, bacteria, and yeast, commonly referred to as a 'SCOBY.' This recipe serves as the foundation for growing sustainable fabric.

Because this is a process that takes a month, I can't share results yet, but I have red wine (instead of kombucha) leather in the making.

For this, use:

-400 ml of red wine (instead of kombucha)

-600 ml of water

-50 grams dextrose (sugar)

-a piece of SCOBY (circa 5 x 4 cm)


Kombucha update: unfortunately, my kombucha moulded and it was thrown away.

Red wine SCOBY bio-leather.