[de]compose challenges viewers to reconsider the final manifestation of the products they purchase and use.

How often do we really consider the life cycle of the products we purchase and use? Today Americans generate 4.5 pounds of trash per day, which is 66% higher than the 2.7 lbs we made in 1960. More encouragingly, more than a third of the trash we generate is now recycled. As the global economy grows, the issue of waste generation becomes increasingly important.

[de]compose challenges viewers to reconsider the final manifestation of the products they purchase and use. It features a set of everyday furniture and home goods made from biomaterials including mycelium and Piñatex. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae, that can be used to make commercial products. Piñatex is a natural, non-woven textile made from pineapple leaf fiber that’s soft, lightweight, and durable.

This interactivity blurs the lines between ecology, art, and decor. Where so much art eventually turns into trash in a landfill, [de]compose will simply fade away, underscoring the ephemeral nature and beauty of bio-materials.