Symbiotic bio skins: bioplastics for design and fashion practices.

The paper summarizes some research steps illustrated by critical points as part of a conference presentation at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples during the Plastic Heritage Congress in October 2022. The paper discusses bio-hacking practices applied to contemporary design and fashion aimed at an aesthetic and conscious exploration of Do-It-Yourself bioplastics. Among the research objectives emerges an unexpected form of ecological awareness and sensitization that sees the designer as a catalytic agent for a more responsible view toward using materials. Crossing philosophical theories on the Informe and Dark Ecology aesthetics, the paper illustrates some bio skins experiments conducted to offer new human-nature relations, observing bioplastics from a symbiotic perspective in continuous metamorphosis. The research is based on a complex philosophical framework, identifying theoretical transitions influencing various experiments. From a transdisciplinary perspective, between philosophy, design, and biology, the experimental practices adopted in the essay take the form of open and replicable study processes geared toward a new way of conceiving bioplastics fabrication. The conclusions illustrate the exposure of these bio skins to the public, opening further questions and aesthetic implications.