Biolab member Vanessa Mardirossian will be presenting her PhD research exhibition, Culture de la couleur: Une écollitératie du design textile, in the window display at the École Supérieure de Mode (ESM) de l’UQAM (280 Sainte-Catherine East). It will be on display from February 26th until May 7th.

Vanessa is a textile designer and worked in fashion for 20 years before starting her PhD. She was driven to return to school after learning about the ecological impact of her industry. Vanessa had already been working with food waste natural dyeing — including onion, avocado, tea, and black bean — and after researching bacterial dyes with the Bactinctorium, she became interested in how she could merge these different techniques.

Over the course of this research, she has created different bacterial liquid cultures from food waste and has tested various fibres in an attempt to expand the colour palette. The exhibition is years in the making and will present an Art/Science approach to textile design through a tinctorial exploration, mixing traditional and innovative dyeing techniques.

This research is ongoing and you can follow Vanessa’s process on her Instagram: @vanessamardirossian.