The artists believe it is important to look at the problem of plastic not only from a production point of view, but also from a scientific one. Is it possible to create biodegradable polymers that would replace oil-based polymers? After all, ready-made polymers such as starch, cellulose, silk, chitosan and chitin, proteins, rubber, RNA and DNA already exist in nature. It is not yet possible to create a biopolymer as strong as plastic. After all, plastic is a very cheap and hard-wearing material. It is impossible to give it up, because almost all of our household items contain plastic.
Polymers are used not only in consumer items, but also in agriculture. Using Sakina Zeinalova's research in the laboratory, the artists concluded that biodegradable polymers from potato starch - such as flocculants for river water treatment, sorbents for wastewater treatment, and hydrogels - could be created. Li-Mi-Yan and Sadovsky were interested in hydrogel. This material is used in agriculture - it is placed in the soil, then abundantly watered, it swells up and gives water to the roots of plants within 7 days. Very convenient, no need to waste energy of irrigation machines and human power every day. But the problem is that now mostly petroleum hydrogels are used, which then do not decompose in the soil for hundreds of years. It begs the question, how environmentally friendly are the vegetables we eat? Thanks to Sakina's developments, the artists managed to obtain a biopolymer hydrogel, which exhibits thermal dependence and its swelling does not depend on the pH of the solution. It is capable of recycling: repeatedly absorbing and releasing water up to 6 times (with a 20% decrease in the degree of swelling from the previous one). This hydrogel decomposes in the soil under the action of enzymes and mold fungi from 20 days after its complete use.
This project is physically presented for the first time in the Futuro Gallery. Throughout the exhibition you can see how hydrogel gradually disappears in the "Flowerbed". This is a new experiment for both viewers and participants of the installation. It is interesting to observe whether hydrogel can completely degrade no longer in natural conditions, but in store soil in the conditions of the gallery.
