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What happens after billions of bacteria die? Written in Decay explores the invisible relationships between life, matter and microorganisms, following their entanglements through processes of making, decay and transformation.
From Life to Material
The material begins with billions of bacteria. Through industrial processing, their biological by-products are transformed into a biodegradable bioplastic, turning a living process into a material for human use. We often encounter biomaterials through questions of performance, sustainability and degradation, while the lives behind them remain invisible. What happens when life becomes material? Where does life go?
Written in Decay
This book is made from Vivomer, a bacteria-derived bioplastic developed by Shellworks. Its pages are placed in soils collected from different environments across London and exposed to microorganisms, moisture and time. Each mark left behind by decay, by invisible organisms, by time, becomes a form of inscription, a form of becoming.
After Life
Perhaps life never truly ends. Perhaps it simply shifts between forms. And perhaps language, too, has never belonged only to us.
