The Kitchen : DeCellular
Increasingly designers are becoming interested in how processes developed within the field of biotechnology can be explored as new ways of producing materials outside of the traditional laboratory setting. De-Cellular is a materials research project that explores the technique of decellularizing organs; a process which involves removing the cells from an organ, such as a kidney. Once stripped of their cells all that is left is the extracellular matrix, the aim in regenerative medicine research is to be able to, at some point in the future, reseed a decellularized organ with a patient’s own cells and then implant the organ. However in this project the decellularized meat is explored as a material in its own right, experimented with and pushed to its aesthetic limits. The resulting project highlights the unexpected results that can occur from the cross contamination of ideas and techniques between design and science.
The outcome of the project is a range of samples that showcase this new material and a custom made glass bio-chamber that is used for the process of decellularization.
This project was shown as part of Design Beyond Making, at Protein Gallery London in November 2013. The show was curated by Vectors.
About the Kitchen
The Kitchen is a creative collaboration that was formed in 2013 between J.J. Hastings and myself during our studies at Central Saint Martins College.
Through thoughtful experimentation with new concepts and materials, it is our aim to disrupt existing boundaries between science, art and design.
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