Playing Life - Biotalk

With: Tjeerd Veenhoven, Ernst Jan Bos, Nienke Hoogvliet and Lia Giraud.

18 Mar 2016

Transnatural and Mediamatic are teaming up for another edition of Playing Life - Biotalk, where we invite emerging bio artists and scientists to showcase their work. This evening we will investigate the possibilities of 3d printing with living tissue (to grow new ears for example!), research how to close the loop in the fashion industry with textiles made from algae, envision micro-organisms as image makers and create new materials made from fish waste: fish-skin leather.

Full day program with Workshops, Talks, Food and Mini Exhibition.
Tickets for Talks and food / Facebook

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Ernst Jan Bos on tissue engineering - Ernst Jan Bos elaborates on the creating feasible methods for engineering new ear and nose cartilage Lisanne Groenewoud

Program

10:00 - 12:00 Workshop: Re-Sea Me (Nienke Hoogvliet)
13:00 - 20:00 Mediamatic ETEN
14:00 - 16:00 Workshop Re-Sea Me (Nienke Hoogvliet)
18:00 - 22:00 Mini Exhibition (Lia Giraud + Nienke Hoogvliet)
20:00 - 22:00 Presentations (Ernst Jan Bos, Tjeerd Veenhuizen, Nienke Hoogvliet)

Workshops

Workshop: Re-Sea Me with Nienke Hoogvliet

In this two hour workshop researcher/ designer Nienke Hoogvliet guides you in the process of making fish leather from a fresh salmon skin in a completely natural way. The workshop starts with an introduction by Nienke. Each participant will tan a skin and which can be transformed into a product in the end. The workshop is part of the exhibition Playing Life exploring the emerging field of creating and working with living materials as a medium for the development of innovative projects. More info here.

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Nienke Hoogvliet demonstrates how to tan fish skin. - Workshop Re-Sea Me by Nienke Hoogvliet Lisanne Groenewoud

Mini-Exhibition

Lia Giraud (FRA) - Canopée

Lia Giraud, a paris-based artist and researcher, has managed to culture microscopic algae into living portraits and detailed landscapes. The ‘algae-graphs’ are produced by sensitive micro-organisms capable of capturing and retaining properties in light, which naturally ‘develop’ pictures using a technique similar to photography. The silver grains traditionally used in film are replaced by micro algae, a photosensitive organism.

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Photographic bacteria - Lia Giraud creates ‘algae-graphs’ with the help of light sensitive micro-organisms.

Nienke Hoogvliet - Re-Sea Me

Nienke Hoogvliet will exhibit her project Re-Sea Me, where made a new leather from fish skin that is normally discarded. She went to fish shops to collect their waste and discovered a way of tanning the skins without any chemicals. By using an old technique, that requires a lot of manual labour, she created a strong, sustainable and beautiful material that can be used like regular leather. To show the abilities of the leather, Nienke designed a small stool with fish leather seating. To continue the SEA ME collection, she also designed a conceptual rug where the fish leather is sown into a discarded fishing net.

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Nienke Hoogvliet on tanning fish skin - Nienke Hoogvliet elaborates on her Re-Sea Me project. Lisanne Groenewoud

Talks

Ernst Jan Bos (VUmc) - Tissue Engineering

Cartilage (softer than bone) is essential for the shape and function of the human nose and ears. Once damaged it does not regenerate and adequate donor sites for reconstruction are limited. That is why Ernst Jan Bos (M.D. & PHD student) and a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, researchers and engineers at VUmc are now trying to create feasible methods for engineering new ear and nose cartilage. They do so with the help of a 3D-printer which not only offers unique opportunities to combine cells and different biomaterials in a very precise and repeatable manner but also offers the possibility to time and cost effectively individualize implants.

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Ernst Jan Bos on tissue engineering - Ernst Jan Bos elaborates on the creating feasible methods for engineering new ear and nose cartilage Lisanne Groenewoud

Nienke Hoogvliet - New Materials

With her work Nienke tries to raise awareness for issues such as natural materials and sustainable production processes. For the project SEA ME she looked into seaweed as the yarn of the future textile industry. Her latest project is a continuation on SEA ME concerning a waste product of the fishing industry: fish skin. The fish skin from salmons is transformed into a leather fabric.

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Fish Leather - Using discarded fish skins to create new textiles Nienke Hoogvliet

 

The continuation of SEA ME, a project about sustainability and the oceans.

Tjeerd Veenhoven - Sustainable Textiles

Tjeerd Veenhoven recently won the Global Change Award with a new project that uses algae for renewable textiles. Research on algae started as early as the 1950’s in the US and Japan, believing that this raw material could one day become a valuable commodity. But even now with large research institutes and global companies putting their weight in its practical and commercial applications are still a decade away, perhaps two. Why the algae has not yet lived up to its promise?

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Tjeerd Veenhoven on sustainable textiles - Tjeerd Veenhoven creates textiles out of algae. Lisanne Groenewoud

Mediamatic ETEN

From 13:00 till 20:00 you are welcome in Mediamatic' waterside Greenhouse for a quick bite, refreshing beer or good cup of coffee. Check out the full menu here. Or even better, get a combi-ticket! This combo includes a ticket to the talk plus dinner for one person.

Information

Playing Life - Biotalk

The Playing Life – Biotalk explore the emerging field of creating and working with living materials as a medium for the development of innovative projects. New experiments in the creation process of objects and materials are leading with talks, performance and demo’s.

Playing Life at Transnatural Gallery

The Playing Life exhibition opened on 26 September and features a combination of recent developments in biotechnology, interspersed with future concepts and projects that are influenced by craft. Playing Life was exhibited at the Dutch Design Week in October with an extended version of the exhibition. The exhibition runs till 15 April 2016 at Transnatural gallery. Go here for more information.

Meet

Meet Agi Haines

A day before Playing Life - Biotalk you have the chance to
discuss your work, ideas and obstacles with bio-artist and previous Playing Life - Biotalk attendee Agi Haines (Winner 2015 BAD award). Agi's work focusses on the malleable human body as design platform. She aims to push the boundaries on what is accepted within our society and consider beneficial modification to our future selves. Sign up via rosa@mediamatic.net (limited spots available)

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Agi talking about her new project at the Biotalk - Agi explains her new projects at the 'Biotalk: designing the human body'

Information
Playing Life - Biotalk
Friday 18 March
Food and one-evening-expo from 18:00, Talks begin at 20:00
Tickets: Students €5,- / Pre-sale: €7,50 / Door: €10,-
Combi Ticket (Entrence to the talks + dinner for one person) €15,-

Mediamatic Biotoop
Dijkspark 6, 1019 BS, Amsterdam