Luminous Lore Exhibition

This work is born from the question:

Can we grow the objects of the future? SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast), a by-product of the kombucha industry, is the starter culture used to brew kombucha. For this installation, the creators have used this culture to grow their own leather– made of bacterial cellulose from fermenting tea, sugar, water, vinegar and SCOBY. The biomaterial can be grown in any size and shape with these few ingredients, thereby becoming an excellent resource for a conscious designer. After initial kitchen table experiments and design explorations, they aimed at utilising SCOBY leather’s unique material properties in a previously unexplored and inherently Indian context. Tholu Bommalata, the ancient shadow puppet theatre tradition of Andhra Pradesh, has traditionally relied on goat, deer or buffalo hide to craft intricate puppets, used for storytelling and folklore. Today craftspeople make lamps and other decor items in the Tholu Bommalata style, to cater to a more contemporary audience. In this case, the context has evolved but the technique and material have remained the same.