THE LIVING LOOM (2018)
A LIVING LOOM.
A human-silkworm coöperation.
Silkworms are the oldest domesticated animals in the world. This means that they are easy to be held in captivity, since they won't run away and can't fly.
I was interested in the relation and compromises between humans and silkworms.
Would it be possible to design specific environments that would control their silk-production?
One wouldn't have to kill the animal in order to harvest the silk, and the silkworms would make their own unique designs.
Various environments, cages, and testing facilities were designed and tested considering material, spaces, and form.
During the process the silkworms actually did escape the facilities, and seemed to like crawling into curtains and flat surfaces.
A similar environment was created in testing facilities. Combining the textile with the flat base underneath encouraged the silkworms to connect the gaps with a strong woven structure.
Similar to the Japanese Kintstugi technique, where gold was used to repair broken ceramics, precious silk was now being used to repair broken fabrics. Without any murders or human intervention, the silkworms enhanced the fabrics and left their trace.