[Bio] Restitution was developed for and first exhibited at IM-PERMANENT as part of Melbourne Design Week 2023.

[Bio] Restitution is a conceptual and material exploration that imagines, explores and demonstrates bio futures and the material possibilities of mycelium, however reflects on this in the context of present and past eras of manufacturing.

The works take a moment to ponder the significance of design and materiality within industrial manufacturing now. The transition through different eras and relevant discourses, the end of the industrial era, resource depletion, value of waste and constructs such as commercial extinction (‘Australian Red Cedar is now commercially extinct’). [Bio] Restitution is contemporary disruption of classic form, through replacement and reformation. The possibility of mycelium as a material is explored through colour, shape, method and final configuration.

The two chairs contemplate this through hybrid design, method and process: upcycling of an iconic (however common) piece of furniture; form replication of the chair leg and upholstery, reconstitution using mycelium; redefining of the chair leg through form extrusion and colour; reclaiming the material through injection of mycelium into the wooden frame; patchworking of mycelium leather with contemporary materials and a bold aesthetic. The mycelium slowly takes over the chair, claiming it back through this new materiality – a poignant disruption in product design and development. What does this new shift to biomaterials mean for the next post-industrial chapter?

Mycelium exploration: Josh Riesel, Ed Linacre and Philippa Abbott from MycoLab (Mycelium Studios).

Material design/upholstery and chair reconfiguration: Paige Miller and James Clark.

MycoLab founders: Ed Linacre and Philippa Abbott from Mycelium Studios.

Mycelium leather samples: MYLEA, MuSkin and Mycelium leather courtesy of Tien Huynh.