This week I visited the biomaterials department at the School of Dentistry in Birmingham where there is considerable research and developement into scaffolds; polymers, hydrogels. I mentioned some previous tissue cutlturing onto silken fibres obtained from Ann Farren, a lecturer, curator and maker at Curtin University of Technology, Perth. The idea was posited to tissue culture onto spiders webs, something I’ve been interested to try since the idea was put to me by Stuart Bunt at SymbioticA.

The spider silk tissue culture idea is an intriging one, from both material scientific and metaphorical points of view. An array of associations and and nascent possibilites emerge when considering combining biological materials; silks, species, cells types, also the issue of cell mobility - would the cells dismantle and alter the integrity of a web they were cultured onto? Would it be possible to encourage a web to be made in situ (in vitro) and then used for tissue culturing purposes. There’s the suggestion of metaphorical and material interplays.

It also brings to mind work by Ken Renaldo’s Spider Haus, “a transpecies communication artwork designed to allow humans to observe the delicate beauty of the common house spider (Theridiidae). . . This work is designed as comfortable home for spiders with a hybrid rapid prototyped plant, which has spikes for easy web attachment.”

Much of Ken’s work posits animalcentric points of view, habitats and sometimes mobile physical environments that can amplify and manifest interspecies interactions through very beautiful combinations and interfaces between organism, robotics and software. He began as a ballet dancer and tells this great bitter sweet story about seeing Baryshnikov dance and figuring he’s never reach those extraordianary hights, but there is an innate beauty and awareness of movement and space embodied within his complex, elegant art works.