Camila Jimenez Pol

This years Scottish degree shows, probably unsurprisingly included many pieces of art, jewellery and design with bacterial elements. The siege of viruses on our lives has also permeated imaginations. Edinburgh graduate Camila Jimenez Pol's work has been exploring fabrics constructed with Bacterial Cellulose Biolum creating products organically from waste that will in turn biodegrade. I have been watching various scientists and designers exploring this medium for nearly 2 decades now, it is interesting to observe it's potential inspire and develop. 

"Biolum is a biodegradable bacterial cellulose lamp grown from local fruit and vegetable waste. It is manufactured in life-friendly conditions, without the use of : high temperatures, harsh chemicals nor strong horses. Unlike most consumer products, Biolum requires minimal post-processing treatments and has 0% excess material waste, any leftover component can be placed back into the mother culture to be re-grown later. This critical design exploration aims to challenge current unsustainable manufacturing methods through a collaboration with a living material, namely bacterial cellulose." 

 

"My work stems from the realisation that most products I will ever design undergo harsh and environmentally destructive processes to unavoidably end up in a landfill. I wanted to challenge these unsustainable processes by drawing from Biomimicry tenets, the way in which nature 'designs', as a source of inspiration. This project matured to be a critical reflection of

our role as ‘designers’ and 'makers' through a collaboration with living materials, namely bacterial cellulose, with the final aim of 'growing' a product. Biolum is a biodegradable bacterial cellulose lamp grown from local fruit and vegetable waste. It is manufactured in life-friendly conditions.  Unlike most consumer products, Biolum requires minimal post-processing treatments and has 0% excess material waste, any leftover component can be placed back into the mother culture to be re-grown later. This critical design exploration is a young designer’s honest attempt at co-designing with nature; at creating without inherently destroying." Camila Jimenez Pol