November GBS Open Studio: Bioplastic Testing with Supermrin

Event Description

Join artist and Genspace member Supermrin (recipient of the 2025 Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant) for an open studio and charrette that shares material research from her ongoing bio-art project FIELD. In this open studio we will discuss how to evaluate home-grown bioplastics for strength, water resistance, lightfastness, and biodegradability, and learn why that testing matters. You will get hands-on experience, see current experiments, and leave with practical testing protocols you can adapt to your own practice. No prior experience required. Snacks and drinks provided.

Evening Schedule

6:15 to 7:15 pm: Collaborative Making

Create a collective artwork with FIELD’s grass-based bioplastic and a range of natural dyes. The finished piece will be displayed in Genspace’s new lab this fall. All materials will be provided. 

7:30 pm: Research Presentations

• FIELD research with Supermrin (5 minutes)
• Material Testing with Sophia Kroto (15 to 20 minutes)

8:00 to 8:30 pm: Small Group Protocols Lab

Hands-on discussion and demos covering testing methods for potato-starch based bioplastics and how they translate to other formulations. Topics include light exposure, tensile and strength cues, water resistance, and biodegradability tracking.

8:30 to 9:00 pm: Full Group Wrap-Up

Share outcomes, compare notes, and collect next steps. Handouts for annotation will be available for comments on each test.

About the Artist

Supermrin is an Indian artist working at the intersection of sculpture and ecology. Grounded in biophilosophy, decolonial theory, architecture, material science, and speculative fiction, her research-driven practice interrogates capitalist and colonial logics inscribed in the global lawn. She is a recipient of the 2025 Anonymous Was A Woman Environmental Art Grant and an artist in residence at Silver Art Projects at the World Trade Center in New York. Her work has been exhibited in museums and institutions across the United States and beyond.

Instagram: @supermrin · Website: streetlight.space

About the Researcher

Sophia Kroto is an artist completing her BFA at the University of Cincinnati. She serves as FIELD’s researcher-in-residence and is a studio assistant to artist Anoushka Mirchandani. This fall Sophia has developed and open-sourced a range of protocols for biomaterials testing, with the goal of refining recipes for outdoor and alternative uses. 

Acknowledgments

This project has been developed with support from Anonymous Was A Woman in partnership with The New York Foundation for the Arts. FIELD’s material research has been incubated and refined over five years with support from Genspace. Many thanks to the Genspace Biomaterials Studio, including past and current members Jil Berenblum, Amy Chien, and Brian Houstle, as well as lab manager Serena Wessely and Executive Director Casey Lardner.

About Genspace Biomaterials Studio

We are a community-driven biomaterial research group exploring, creating, and innovating at the intersection of materials, biology, and design. Biomaterials are collaborations between organisms​ synthesized into forms used for art, products, medicine, and construction. We actively cultivate a community of designers, artists, and scientists focused on finding alternative solutions to today’s materials using circular and regenerative systems.