CRAFTING BIOTEXTILES

2014

Crafting Biotextiles began as a 15-week research-creation residency at the former SymbioticA International Centre of Excellence in Biological Art, to conduct initial experimentation with the application of textile pattern and structural integrity to the construction of organic matrices for tissue engineering.

The project explored the convergence of hands-on wet biology practices and textile craft, positioning the cultivation of living cells on aesthetic textile forms as both technical procedure and conceptual gesture. Within this framework, textile structures operate as scaffolds for growth, while living systems actively participate in shaping material outcomes.

3D-printed miniature weaving tools, developed as part of the project, remain embedded within the living cultures after their functional use, becoming integral components of the laboratory apparatus. These hybrid systems highlight notions of material agency and haptic intelligence, emphasizing co-creative relationships between cellular processes and intentional human design. The research further investigated parallels between histological laboratory techniques and textile methods, in processes such as staining and dyeing.

Techniques explored include decellularization of hog gut, histological slide preparation, cell staining, cell culture, live cell imaging and microscopy, and experiments in fibre preparation for handwoven scaffolding.

All research and works were produced during the residency at SymbioticA. 3D-printed looms and tools were developed at the former Alternate Anatomies Lab (Stelarc), School of Design & Art, Curtin University. The project benefited from the research support of Ionat Zurr, Guy Ben-Ary, Stuart Hodgetts, Mary Lee, Shirley Chang, Soichiro Mihara, Oron Catts, Chris Cobilis, and the SymbioticA community.

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The residency was supported by artsnb, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Concordia University, alongside numerous private donors.