Inspired by corals’ symbiotic relationship with microorganisms, Chris has developed a contemporary living material which encapsulates bioluminescent micro-algae. The material lives for at least 6 months, emitting light in response to touch, and needing only sunlight in return.
In collaboration with Polynesian artisans, traditional knowledge and science came together to co-create a series of artifacts which demonstrate how living materials can reconnect us to nature through intercultural and interspecies collaboration, and how biotechnology can move beyond the laboratory.
This drum was made in collaboration with dancers and makers Hinatea & moe Colombani. The drum combines local materials and practices, with the living bioluminescent material. Like Polynesian traditional knowledge, which exists only in living memory, there is a risk that it may die. However this fragility allows it to adapt, react, and interact – which is what makes this temporal state of livingness so beautiful.
A series of 5 drums was created, with patterns adapted algorithmically from Hinatea's designs using bio-inspired growth patterns. These drums can be exhibited individually or collectively.
