Austeja Platukyte
creative researcher | design master | Ph.D. student | www.austejaplatukyte.com
Lithuania °1992
research interests: Bioart, biodesign, materials, ecology, Climate Change, Anthropocene, Biodegradable objects, material futures, circular design, organic materials, living materials, 3d bioprinting, grown materials, hybrid materials, material design, living design objects
en
austeja platukyte is a creative researcher working in between the disciplines of material design and science, technology, and craft. her creative solutions are systematically linked to the theme of organic matter and a topic of materials transformation into other forms, introducing new social, cultural, economic, and psychological context into her creative process. in each of her projects, the artist seeks to highlight the relevance of the creative process, gain real experience in the development of new materials. austeja combines experimental research with the imagination and interpretation of existing knowledge. she explores the fundamental ecological problems, emphasizing subjective emotional involvement, and questioning the values of an anthropocentric society. departing from the aesthetic, formal, and functional definitions austeja seeks to discover alternative design methods that will resist the logic of universality, functionality, and overall beauty dictated by large-scale industry
in her practice, the past, the present, and the future are connected thru natural materials. the artist is trying to read the past, understand the properties of each material, and make a conversation between herself and the material. she seeks to rethink the relationship between humans and nature, questioning today’s scientific information, and speculate the material futures. she raises the fundamental question about how creative practices can be focused on the social, cultural, and political realms that will only remain in the geological layers of the earth, and how we can raise the discussion about today's situation to create alternative and unpredictable future scenarios? she's trying to imagine the material flows and traces we will leave behind as a species while collaborating with basic elements of nature - time and biodegradation. her biodegradable objects could be considered as independent things, changing with time, and creating their own story while transforming into new hybrid materials and coming back into different layers of the earth, which in the future could become new forms of art. in that way, the artist contribute to the never-ending world transformation processes
