11/07/2026
🏆 Grateful and honoured to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Ethical Practices Award at the So Fresh + So Clean 2025 exhibition for my MA research, “Cabinet of Symbiosities - Growing Brooch” from the US.
This award marks a full year of intense laboratory research, relentless experimentation, and countless failures. Coaxing living organisms to cooperate with gemstones was a massive challenge, but I’m thrilled by the successful outcome.
The work functions on two distinct levels:
🧪 1. The Bio-Grown Setting
Instead of using human hands, this brooch was grown in the lab. Using discarded hardwood sawdust and campus coffee grounds, the living mycelium acts as a biological binder—naturally growing around and encapsulating the gemstones.
🌍 2. The Metaphor of Colonialism
The coffee and hardwood sawdust used to feed the mycelium are non-native materials imported into the UK. The golden resin, aggressive fungal growth, and crystallization process serve as a direct metaphor for Colonialism & Parasitism—mirroring historical patterns of exploitation.
🙏🏻 A massive thank you to my tutors & at for guiding my research, and to the team at the Bio Lab for the crucial space and scientific expertise.
Thank you to for recognizing this intersection of biotech, sustainable craft, and history. 🍄💎✨
