Our group decided to ask ourselves some fundamental questions during the initial round of our research.

1. What does the characteristic/process do?
2. Why does the feature/process occur in the organism/system?
3. What is the purpose of the observed mechanism?

Concept Ideation 1

Our first concept is inspired by the movement of the jellyfish.

What does the characteristic do?

Researchers found that rather than moving continuously through water while swimming, jellyfish use a critical pause between the contraction and expansion of their bell-shaped body to create a difference in pressure that pushes them forward.

Why does this feature occur in the jellyfish?

This motion allows the jellyfish to travel 30 percent further each stroke cycle, thereby reducing metabolic energy demand by swimming muscles.

The fungus is a fascinating organism with repetitive yet unpredicted patterns and folds on its spores and this characteristic is emulated by the curlicue, a kinetic origami with ever changing spiral patterns.

In Luminarium, light, shape variations and biomimicry meet as the curlicue flows   and rotates on the DC motor that is activated by a light dependent resistor.

In addition to the movements of the garment, Luminarium underlines the fundamental aspect of the fungi: decay. The garment plays a mediating role to show that the fungus, which is mostly associated to death, can actually be a symbol of creation.