You will never be me: Personalising biofabricated products with users' genetic materials
The bag is made of kombucha leather embedded with a user’s genetic material.
Detail of the bag showing the timber hardware.
Abstract
Status shapes relationships, organisations and marketplaces and can be signalled through conspicuous consumption of luxury goods; and since low status is deeply unappealing, consuming becomes an ambition.
“Thus, possessions can be considered to be artefacts of the extended self as they can be used to confirm individuals’ identities socially.”
However, 'within the feminine sphere, objects became, first and foremost, symbols, sacrificing their utilitarian features to their symbolic functions' (Penny Sparke, 1995). That is the case with handbags, which are more than just symbolic accessories as they can stimulate strong memories of people and events because of their identity and biographical connections, but are mainly made of leather, a material full of ethical and environmental issues that do not seem to represent consumers' increasingly general concern for the environment.
The final design is a bag made from kombucha leather using traditional construction methods and embedded with a user’s genetic material. It presents as an object with psychological potency, to enhance attachment and the perception of value.
- Isabella Enrica
See this project and more from our 2021 Honours Students here:
http://www.utsproductdesigngraduates.com/2021-honours/isabella-enrica
