Regenerative design with a 3D printer
The birds are made by modifying a desktop 3D printer into a syringe extrusion printer. Instead of plastic filament, the printer extrudes starch-based biomaterials mixed with textile fibres. These explorations expand the possibilities for fabricating flexible biomaterials. The shapes and colours of the birds were interesting for Tess in the making process, because each bird is designed computationally in Grasshopper. The colour gradients are created during printing with different material mixtures in the syringe.
Aesthetics and compostability
The title Lifer refers to seeing a bird species for the first time. The combination of the computationally designed shapes and the unexpected behaviour of the biomaterial during extrusion and drying creates an interesting aesthetic. The birds hang in front of a window, where their semi-transparent material allows light to pass through them. They can remain as art pieces for as long as they are wanted, but when they are no longer needed, they can be buried in soil, where the material decomposes.
