The biodegradable Wiggy project reacts to global political changes, in particular, the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and the uncertain future of leaving the single market in terms of socio-economic and ecological impact, through investigating the prospects of vernacular production.

 

The designer studied local raw material extraction, tapped into urban waste streams and explored potential material recovery, which led her to identify human hair clippings as an abundant and valuable but neglected fibre. Through material experimentation, it was discovered that hair can be wet felted and formed into solid shapes by laminating it with PLA bioplastic. In order to demonstrate the material’s structural capabilities, the designer chose to create a dressing table stool. The minimum offcuts fabrication process guides the shape of Wiggy and its narrative aspires to challenge people’s perception of aesthetics of objects through their lifecycles.

 

Wiggy seeks to showcase the opportunities for design to add value to waste utilization through creating a circular flow of materials. The project’s framework allowed Oksana to experience the concept of designers being farmers of material, which is predicted to be an important part of the future society by Zoe Laughlin, co-founder of The Institute of Making at UCL.