SURPRISING TEXTILES, DESIGN & ART - exhibitions international

BIofacturE 2050 BIofacturE 2050E
Tizziani et Baldizzone
how dId wE gEt thErE?
More than a decade ago, we developed the knowledge
to produce biopolymers fibres made from
corn, crab shell, and even milk. These were produced
from natural raw materials enhanced by
chemical manipulations. Then, came the spider
goat, produced by Nexia BioTechnology, a goat
genetically re-engineered with a spider gene. The
intention there was to use the milk from that
goat to produce a biopolymer fibre with some of
the characteristics of a spider silk. A spider can
produce a biodegrable [biodegradable] fibre six
times stronger than Kevlar at ambient temperature,
without toxic chemical by-products or energy
hungry machinery. So spiders have become
a symbolic inspiring model of nature, and for decades
now scientists have attempted to reproduce
spider silk artificially. Synthetic biology has just
taken this quest a step further. All of this is now
possible because we can combine the language of
DNA sequencing (A, C, T, G) with the 1s and 0s of
computer programming. In terms of textiles, we
are familiar with Computer Aided Design (CAD),
and Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM). 21st
century technology has now enabled us to enter
the next phase: Computer Aided Biofacture (CAB)
or computer programmable biological ‘manufacturing’.
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whErE do wE go from thErE?
Synthetic biology has the potential to radically
disrupt our design and manufacturing models.
This is not science fiction: these so called synthetic
bacteria and plants are still in science
labs, but they are being developed rapidly and
benefit from massive injection of public and
private funding. So what about the ethical dimension
of such extreme technology? Some argue
that in the current ecological crisis, living
technology can enable us to produce more sustainable
materials at ambient temperatures,
without using harsh chemicals and generating
toxic by-products. But until 2010 we had never
created a technology that had the capacity to
self-replicate. Can we really be in control of
these new living organisms, or have we opened
Pandora’s box? And what becomes of the designer
in a future where everything is reduced
to programmable coding, even the living?
●
Carole Collet,
Reader In Textile Futures, TFRC, Central Saint Martins College,
University of the Arts London.
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