Eliot Wolfert
Bio Composite Shell No.3Bio Composite Shell No. 3 is made from solely organic substances: cotton infused with a proprietary blend of tree saps, waxes, and naturally occurring oils. The result is a semi-translucent membrane with a yellow incandescent glow and soft white pebbling. It appears familiar yet foreign, like something grown, tamed, and distilled rather than manufactured. Its surface behaves like a living cuticle of a leaf, its waxy and oily presence interacting with the host’s own skin in a state of mutually beneficial symbiosis. In harsh conditions, the composite interacts with the wearer’s skin, releasing oils that lightly condition their skin.
In a blur of past and present, future fantasy, this piece evokes an eerie sense of melancholy with a feeling of distinct foreignness and otherworldliness. I imagine the garment as an artifact from a world adjacent to ours, where beings patrol the lands and protect themselves from harsh radiation in translucent, leaf-like cloaks to allow them to hunt and prowl in an ozone that differs from ours in ways we wouldn’t be able to understand.