trend report

trend #1

what is it?

In-Vase Meat by Leyu Li

why is it interesting?

The project by Leyu Li imagines an "Indoor Cellular Agriculture" system which allows individuals to grow meat in their home. The system is a vase for meat growth, inspired by kimchi pickling. The project imagines a bio-vase that uses vegetables as scaffolding for meat to grow. The designer has another project (a social media campaign for In-Vase Meat, essentially) that gathered a lot of attention on TikTok, showing the public interest.

I believe one of the most important needs humanity as a species have will be regarding food. As climate change challenges our food systems, finding alternative proteins is an essential part of both adaptation and mitigation of climate change. In-Vase Meat uses humor and speculative fiction to draw attention to this, which I believe is one of the most affective ways to do so.

trend #2

what is it?

Guilty Flavours by Eleonora Ortolani

Eleonora Ortolani's project is an ice cream made out of plastics. Commenting on the ever-growing plastic pollution, Ortolani is daring people to change their mindsets and contribute to elimination of plastics by eating them with the help of digestive enzymes.

why is it interesting?

Similar to In-Vase Meat, this project is also commenting on one of the biggest challenges of the planet. With plastics not degrading, we are creating a time-resistant waste. I think Orgolani's "dare" for people to contribute to plastic clean-up is confrontational while keeping it humorous, which is why it's interesting.

trend #3

what is it?

Atlas of Aliens uses MRI scanning and Midjourney to create images of alien worlds. The ongoing project was awarded the BAD Award this year. Their project description states that the group will reflect on the "alien imaginations personally and collectively by applying guided meditation to individuals and AI respectively". From that they will create an atlas of aliens.

why is it interesting?

Alien other, animal other, human other. Perceiving the other is essential to creating ourselves, as many philosophers discuss (think master-slave narrative, or deconstructionists like Derrida). Thinking about the other is one of the reasons why I'm so interested in more-than-humans and biodesign, thus this project is very interesting to think through.

Atlas of Aliens: The Other Within Us by Hung Lu Chan, Floortje Bouwkamp & Floris de Lange

trend #4

what is it?

The No(nhuman) Consent Form by Daniëlle Ooms

A tool to reconsider using non-humans in our research/design/art.

why is it interesting?

Because it's very difficult to fill the form. We simply don't know what algea, bacteria, fungi etc. are thinking when we use them for our projects. However, rather than ignoring this, asking the hard, ethical questions is critical to keep our practices as inclusive as possible for all living beings.

trend #5

Mending with Mycelium by Emma Fukuwatari Huffman

what is it?

This project "invites" mycelium to fix worn down shoes. It is accompanied by a picture book “The Mycelium and the Kin-ji-ya”, offering an alternative reality of entanglement with more-than-human.

why is it interesting?

The project starts with a simple idea of mending old shoes, but reveals deeper concepts like living with the more-than-human, and working with them. The idea of fixing with the help of mycelium changes the narrative of humans over nature. I think the way the project is presented is very accessible, which is important for impactful change.

trend #6

Seapussy Power Galore - Abcession (if you don't know, you don't grow) by Giulia Casalini

what is it?

Seapussy Power Galore is a performance piece and installation asking questions of speculative fiction, hydrofeminism and the deep sea. The artist created a suit representing the life under deepest sea levels to tell their stories of "he stories of the Venuses who have risen from the foam; the tragedies of colonialism and of those who did not make the crossing; or the effects of plastic waste and other pollutants that the terrestrial world have discarded into this submerged terrain."

why is it interesting?

Speculative fiction is at the core of this work, and I believe speculative fiction is essential to imagine change. Among all the works presented in my report, this is the one that belongs to the arts as it freely connects colonialism, feminism and queer ecology. I think storytelling like these are essential to make the more "grounded" projects a reality.

trend #7

what is it?

A design system for building facades to incorporate different plants, while taking plants needs into consideration and creating a more equal relationship between humans and plants in urban settings.

why is it interesting?

I believe this is interesting as it brings out aesthetics as a concern for urban settings. As someone who grew up in a concrete landscape, I don't attest to the difference a project like this can make.

trend #8

what is it?

A mix of design and ontology, Soiled is thinking through, well, soil. The soil samples are gathered from the devastated earthquake sites from Southeastern Turkey, where a huge earthquake struck in February 2023. The project is considering issues of different temporalities (of humans, of soil) and decomposition.

why is it interesting?

The project first attracted my attention as it was referring to the earthquakes in Turkey. The content of the project, however, drew my attention even more as it looks like different temporalities - a subject I have been researching this semester. Temporalities of different species, of the soil, of human mind is widely different, yet we live together. I think having a more design mindset with these questions can yield to interesting (if not more practical) results in our relationship with others on the Earth.

trend #9

what is it?

Soil Steams is a project about microbial health of the soil and humans. By bringing nature-based healthcare design to soil, Tarkhanian creates a relationship between soil and human helathcare

why is it interesting?

For similar reasons as the project above. In addition, considering the health of microbes and the soil as a "healthcare" system, the project changes the narrative of healthcare as only for human beings and points out the connection we have with nature.

trend #10

what is it?

A project about using algea as a "memory card" to store digital artifacts.

why is it interesting?

I think this project is fascinating because it is quite difficult for me to understand how exactly it works. My storing digital things on a liquid form, I am reminded of my materiality. Everything is made up of "thing" - fluid in our brain is not so different from the algae used for storage.

Plant Pixel by Maricruz Solera Jimenez

Soiled by Gizem Oktay, Dienke Stomph and Jiwei Zhou

Soil Steams by Serina Tarkhanian

Algea Cloud by Neva Linn Rustad