Finalist project of MaDe (Material Designer) – project co-funded by Creative Europe Programme of The European Union. It is still in development.

Previous research into the properties of bioindication and bioaccumulation of lichens inspired my exploration into how a “biodigital-semiotic” could use, and influence, the emerging virtual materiality of AR face filters. As the “shininess” of AR face filters has increasingly seen as a value of beauty, I am interested in exploring how this characteristic could be defined by planetary-scale computation and not just by human taste. In Digital Lichen, the materiality of an AR face filter –
colours, shapes, behaviours – is influenced by the live stream of data of air pollution collected at the user’s geo-location. The surrounding environment will define what the user will become.

Fascinated by how the representation of the world causes the world itself, Digital Lichen explores how transformation, through a (virtual) mask, could be used as a tool for questioning our idea of an outside (the environment), created by our cultural narratives.