Biomaterial Exploration Workshop

This biomaterial workshop held on the 15th and 16th of January 2022, was a very explorative workshop looking into creating and growing bio-based materials. Bio-based materials here refer to using ingredients that are derived from living (or once-living organisms), most of which in our case are the regular suspects in your kitchen such as corn flour, agar agar and kitchen waste such as orange peel and used coffee grounds. Needless to say, our workshop set up looks very much like a cooking class.

Participants were introduced to the fundamentals of what makes a material – polymers, plasticizer, fillers and expanding agents; and how the different quantities of the same ingredients will affect the physicality of the final material. 

During the workshop, the participants were also encouraged to pick up materials from around the GoDown such as fallen leaves and flowers that could be added into their material to give it the extra texture, colours and even structure.

The objective was to allow the participants to explore, experiment and create different variations of biomaterials.

The outcome of the workshop was very interesting as many different variations of materials were produced. While most of the participants got excited about using fallen leaves and flowers to make creative compositions in their material, some others came up with creative ways to add the flowers into the heating process thereby ‘accidentally’ extracting the colour pigment from the flowers and giving their material that extra tinge of colour.

more photos

A Bio Material Workshop by FabCafe Kuala Lumpur
at the STAR / KL  – “Fission, Fusion, and Facets” light installation by light artist Jun Ong. STAR / KL is a four-storey light installation at The Go Down KL made possible by the support of Cendana Malaysia. It is currently on display from 26 November 2021 – 26 March 2022