SURPRISING TEXTILES, DESIGN & ART - exhibitions international

BIofacturE 2050 BIofacturE 2050E
Soie de marie
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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 Bio-
Technology, 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’.
Carole collet
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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