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UWA Micro'be' team arts wine fabrics in cellulose dress

15 Mar '07
3 min read

It smells like red wine and feels like sludge when wet, but the cotton-like cellulose dress 'grown' at the Institute of Agriculture, University of Western Australia (UWA), fits snugly as a second skin.

The unique bacterinal fermented dress, made from wine, could mark the start of fabrics fermented by living microbes entering the $229.5 billion per annum Australian fabric manufacturing industry.

The Institute of Agriculture, in collaboration with SymbioticA:The Art and Science Collaborative Research Laboratory, is in a unique position to link university faculties by integrating science and the arts.

UWA researchers Gary Cass, Donna Franklin and Alan Mullett authored Micro'be', an arts project using science to convert wine into a cellulose product. Inspiration for the cellulose garments came when Mr Cass noticed a skin-like layer covering a vat of wine that had been contaminated with bacteria and gone 'off'.

“Micro'be' examines the practical and cultural biosynthesis of microbiology, using biological specimens in art pieces,” Mr Cass said. As the project's scientist, he equips UWA arts students with the fundamental knowledge necessary to work in scientific laboratories.

Institute of Agriculture Director, Professor Kadambot Siddique said such cross faculty projects inspired students to appreciate the exciting potential of applying science to agriculture and other industries.

Mr Cass said there was an opportunity to consolidate UWA's reputation as a leader in cross discipline boundary spanning, as Perth was one of the only places in the world where sciences and arts collaborate d through hands-on experience, largely through SymbioticA.

The Council of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, established in 2003, aimed to better link arts and industry through its national innovative role improving cross linkages with arts, science and technology.

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