contaminated life

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End of Phase One

The Contaminated Life blog is now closed.

This seminar, the first phase of the Biospatial Workshop research, has now finished.

The next phase, a design studio project, is occurring in a new blog:  Cultivating Life

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Jiroj Submission (digital copy)

The hard copies are all submited.

Here is the digital (+backup) copy.

jiroj_manual_submission.pdf

jiroj_submission_reciept.pdf

jiroj_-posts_submission.pdf

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To Admirals and Captains alike………

Dear All,

I invite you to participate in my final project, as a component of my final submission for the completion of the Bachelor of Architecture.   The project is composed of a written thesis, and an architectural project that has seen Bulding Eight, by Edmond and Corrigan, immersed in the great depths of my own reverie.  The following will compose of a 15 minute presentation of the architectural project, followed by discusison.

A CLINIC FOR THE EXHAUSTED

(An Act in Four Parts)

20th June  2007

Viscom Gallery, Building 9, Level 3 (just above SIAL)

9.30am - 10.00am (such an ungodly hour)

Caution: You may get your feet wet

Regards,

Michael

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[safe]

Last night there was a movie showing on SBS called ‘[safe]‘ which I have seen before. It is abou the effect of chemicals in everyday products that begin to have an effect on a San Fernando housewife (Julianne Moore).

She developes multiple chemical sensitivity, illness caused by miniscule fumes and gases from plastics/fabric/fragrances etc.

I think it has particular interest for Sarah and Sophie as there are a few hyperventilation scenes that sound exactly like your dialogue! scary!

It would be a good movie for everyone though, even if just for the great late 80s outfits and homes.

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Draft 1 and 2 in brief

After discussion in class today, I have finally refined my ideas and these are to make two manuals…

One of the manuals is an actual garment (a top that I am in the process of making) that will transform completely into a shopping bag or handbag. The top will have the guide of how to transform it, its composition and care requirements, all printed onto it. The print will hence not only be a part of the fashionable appearance of the top, but also a key functional feature.

As I am designing a collection of 10 transformable garments like this one, I will also make a hand held guide that one can purchase. It will give them a step by step (written and with technical drawings) process on how to transform certain garments into new, usable objects/things. However not all 10 that I am designing will be in there, but instead a select three or four different styled garments.

These are a few of the different mechanisms I am looking at in relation to transforming the garments:

Knots, buttons, pleats/slits, folds, velcro, zips, drawstrings…

Here is an initial and second mock up of the t-shirt idea:

Shopping Tee

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progress

It’s been interesting taking note of my own reactions to this project over the last couple of days.

On average, however, I’ve been slightly uncomfortable in producing these images.

The homunculus/mandrake image especially has left me feeling a little unsettled. I keep thinking back to the Hans Bellmer images I posted a while back. Whilst the viewer knows that the image couldn’t be real, the impact that the misappropriation of the human form has is slightly unsettling.

Perhaps the dandelion image is more successful – a slightly more poetic idea of transformation and extension of the human artefact or souvenir.

At this stage, I envisage the final document to be a series of these ‘sprouter’ images with accompanying text.

Oh, and upon approaching some science heavyweights it seems that human semen would be a fine environment for the germination of seeds. Here are the responses I received:

Scientist 1:

Jen - Your query is perfectly legitimate, and your comments about the amines quite correct - I would expect the chemical ‘cocktail’ would support plant germination because the levels of the materials are not
too excessive - the main things needed for germination are water (moisture ) and warmth - you probably recall that as children, we germinated wheat seeds on a moist layer of paper or cotton wool, placed
in the light and warmth of a window sill - all the necessary nutrients required for germination are contained within the seed - for continued growth, you need to add soil or a fertilizer…
Best wishes for the experiment –Colin
Associate Professor Colin Rix
Program Leader, Applied Chemistry

Scientist 2:

Wouldn’t have a clue! Only one way to find out….
John 

With hydroponics, it seems that the main issues are fertiliser and a structural support system upon which the plant can grow (rather than floating in space as my images currently portray!)

 

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substitute

hi everyone!

i am really sorry that i can’t make it to our last class, but i am still struggling with my glandular fever.

here are some images of the carpet i am going to transform into a  mobile substitute on the body! i still have to digitize the images for the manual!

 pattern that is drawn onto the carpet.

variations of wearability.

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update

one of the technicals: 2nd-page-dresses-sub2.pdf

so far: substitute_082.pdf

will bring in more techs to class that haven’t been computerised yet… see ya’ll then

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what do you do with a half-pint wide mouth Mason jar of urine?

http://www.indiana.edu/~fusion/spring2003/authors/alvarez.html

Fun with Urine!

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condom sprouter research

Ok so this week, continuing with the used condom sprouters, I’ve been doing some research on the components of human semen, required nutrients for plant growth, homunculi, and potential plants to be grown.
Semen = sperm + seminal plasma. Seminal plasma (the slippery component allowing for relatively easy swimming for the sperm) contains compounds which combat the hostile (acidic) environment of the female reproductive tract, such as putrescine, spermine, spermidine, and cadaverine.
Putrescine and cadaverine originate in putrefying and rotting flesh (protein hydrolysis) and, quite literally, are the smell of death. They are both poisonous to the human body so they are flushed out quickly such as in urine and semen giving them their distinct odour. They can also be released through breath and vaginal secretions.
So these literally toxic wastes which are expelled through the medium of semen are also essential in the forging of a healthy environment for the catalyst of embryonic development. Perhaps there’s potential in that idea.
See the breakdown of semen in ‘comments’.
Have began a brief foray into the research of hydroponics; there are some ‘DIY’ hydroponic solution recipes, however they are only really practical if you own, say, a science lab (not many people I know have molybdic acid at 85% strength readily available). So more research to do here…
My research into homunculi was vastly more successful once I spelt it correctly (thanks Michael)…
There are many facets to ideas relating to homunculi, such as those of the ‘Spermists”, as Boo suggested, which is the belief that sperm was infect a little man which, once placed into a woman’s womb, would grow to be, well, a big man.
I quite liked the homunculi relating to the discipline of alchemy. This alchemist Paracelsus claimed to have created a mini human using a recipe of bones, semen, skin fragments, and hair, then buried in the ground surrounded by horse manure for 40 days after which a mini-man would sprout. So here’s a link between horticulture and creation of humans…
So I’ve been considering if the type of plants I choose to grow is important…
Some alchemist theories relating to homunculi involve the mandrake plant. The theory goes that the mandrake grew in the place when hanged men ejaculated during there last spasms of life. Some hilarious processes ensue such as the plant had to be picked before dawn on a Friday morning by a black dog, then fed with milk, honey and blood, whereupon it would grow into a homunculus.
So perhaps a mandrake plant would be appropriate?
In the Hebrew bible, the Mandrake helps barren women conceive. There are also many references throughout history (including Shakespeare & Harry Potter) to the deafening screaming of Mandrakes when they are pulled from the ground.
At this stage all this research is rather unhinged, yet I think all this information will inform my final manual. I need to do some DIYification…

 

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sbstutuite

substitute_011.pdf

early trials for layout and front cover and the early set up of the manual etc… a pdf mockup.this is our text with the graphic designers touch so the layout is not our own. maybe ill bring some ‘transformed objects’ (garments)  into class to show you guys what ive been working on.

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SOILET

Hi everyone

Lots going on with the nutrient exchange system research. I’ve also begun doodling away on some ideas for names and logos etc…early stages
Public toilet meets public art meets cafe meets bank meets grocery store meets park.

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bubble wrap for window insulation

For Jiroj:

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From Lego to M-yo (Make Your Own)

Why does Lego do what it does? How is it contaminated? How does it contaminate? How does it provide solutions to combat issues or stigmas associated with contamination? These are all questions I am still considering and which haven’t a finite answer yet but they have provided me with my starting point for the contaminated life assessment task. 

The object which I am exploring for this project sprouted from an idea that appeared when I read the novel Sophie’s World which contains a passage arguing the merits of Lego. This book hails Lego as the smartest toy ever invented.  

I posted a blog outlining the awesomeness of Lego about six weeks ago and at the time thought it would be a fun but pretty huge task to try and mimic the Lego toy such that it becomes a tool in everyday life. However I kept on thinking about it (perhaps the simplicity of it is what ‘stuck’ with me-I always preferred Blue’s Clues over Sesame Street). Eventually I tried to give it a go.  

Now I am creating Lego….for the body….so we can build our own clothing. 

Why is Lego so great?

-Each block is indivisible.

-Each block is solid, impermeable and un-cut table.

-They have different shapes and sizes.

-They have ‘hooks’ and ‘barbs’ so that they can be connected to form every conceivable figure. These connections can later be broken again so that new figures can be constructed from the same blocks.

-They are ‘eternal’ in that children play with the same blocks that their parents used when they were children. 

I think what excited me the most is the infinite possibilities on offer when given a group of blocks. What’s to say such blocks cannot be interpreted on the body to create a (perhaps functional) garment. Nothing as far as I am concerned.  

For the past few weeks I have been making/ building/ toile-ing variations of the 2×1 Lego block trying as much as possible to adhere to the rather sustainable merits of the Lego block toy outlined above. The versions I have made to act predominantly in the realm of clothing have been labelled M-YO (shortened from Make Your Own so it rhymes with Lego). I have chosen my preferred measurements and now I am making lots of them. 

In regards to how I plan on presenting my objects in a manual-like format I have decided to use the layout of the Lego instructions we all know and love, demonstrating step by step and block by block some of the thousands of ways in which the M-yo blocks can transform on the body to create unconventional garments.

 I have some images which I am having trouble putting onto the blog because RMIT is dang. I will bring them to class instead.

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DIY competition

our set of DIY guides may not be what they’re looking for, but i think we chould consider entering some anyway…

Ooop. its over.