Show RCA 2011: Royal College of Art graduate Erik de Laurens has made a pair of swimming goggles, spectacles and beakers out of fish scales.
De Laurens invented a plastic material made only from fish scales, treated under heat and pressure with no extra binding agents.
Coloured objects can be made by dying the scales first.
He presented the goggles alongside beakers, spectacle frames and a table inlaid with slices of the material, plus a water dispenser made of fish leather.
Called The Fish Feast, the project was inspired by the huge number of scales that the fishing industry discards.
See more work by this year's Royal College graduates here.
Here's some more information from Erik de Laurens:
The fish feast
The fish feast started when I was asked to design objects for the canteen of a primary school of Macassar, a township of Cape Town.
When I was a kid the sea was for me a very important source of joy and daydream which surely led me to design.
I decided to create a monthly event in which the pupils of one class would be brought to a fishing day on the nearby beach.
Then they would go back to school with the fish they have caught and prepare the traditional cape kedgeree.
To accompany this feast he designed a range of object related to fish.
A water dispenser made with fish leather. Tumblers realised with the fish scales and a table cloth which has a pattern that explain how to build your own boat.
In continuation of ‘the fish feast’ I created a surprising material made of 100% fish scales (no added compound).
The fishing industry generates several circumstances where many tonsof fish scales are leftover.
Using this waste as resources for the production of fish-scale-plastic, I tried to highlight the potentiality of these industrial flaw.
In order to test the material I have designed 3 pairs of goggles and glasses inspired by swimming goggles and a table with an inlay of a fish. I have also extended the range of colours in the tumbler previously designed.
I am currently looking for funding to push the development of this material further.
I'm not convinced by the glasses, but the research is really good.
Good to see real research on dezeen !
Not just new shape for stools etc…
Hope the project is going well.
That is amazing! I would certainly like to learn more about these materials —although I wouldn't wanna be anywhere near his workshop (Peeeeeugh!) :P
that fish leather is awesome
I have seen artists using fish scale as a medium, and it's great to know that this material can be industrialized! Beautiful project, and dispenser :)
love it. Think the glasses are good too. I wonder about the functionality of the swimming goggles – is the plastic flexible like the sillicon skirts found on conventional goggles, or hard like the wood on traditional fillipino goggles?
you just made gizmodo, which is a somewhat high profile gadget site, and a favorite of a thing called kickstart.
This may be what you are looking for.
I think it's a great idea, the colors and patterns of this fish plastic are beautiful!
I just found you via BoingBoing. Agree with @bombastinator, Kickstarter is a great source of funding.
The items are lovely. This is inspired.
brilliant – particularly the plastic. hope erik gets funding to develop further
Get on kickstarter.com