Sensorial Skins are grown by bacteria during an acid fermentation process, the result of this action is called ‘vegetable leather’. The Sensorial Skins undergo a visible metamorphosis due to the changing environmental factors -temperature and humidity- specific to the location.

Since 2015, I have been developing organic material by fermenting bacteria and yeasts that leave behind a brownish vegetable leather once they are removed from their substrate. Some skins are colored in the growth medium with natural dyes such as hibiscus and curcuma, while others are colored through capillation processes. These biofilms are called Sensorial Skins to emphasize their living and evolving nature.

The skin acts simultaneously as a protective layer and as an interface between the external and internal environments. The microbiological world thus exposes itself to our gaze in the form of these rectangular skins displayed on walls or presented in light boxes where every line and detail of their matter is accentuated. The roughness of these membranes indicates their origin as the fruit of an agglomeration of different bacterial colonies. The resulting skins can then be read as topographic maps bearing the marks of their gradual aging.

Diptique SS-1, 280cm x 73cm

Sensorial Skins serve as interfaces between the internal and external worlds, linking the human, vegetal, and bacterial realms. They guide us between the macroscopic and the microscopic, translating the collaborative processes between humans and microorganisms. These skins reveal how organic matter from everyday life is transformed into tactile biofabrics.

Once formed, these materials become the foundation for soft sculptures, their pigments catching the light as they drape over metal structures. They invite us to engage—to touch and smell them. These living biomaterials respond to their environment, shrinking, hardening, or softening depending on the humidity and temperature of their surroundings.

The alchemical element of earth is deeply embedded in my Sensorial Skins collection. This series of organic fabrics highlights the sculptural qualities of everyday natural materials: bacterial cellulose skins, vegetal membranes, and algal biofilms. These *Sensorial Skins* are complex, textured surfaces that stimulate all of our senses through their materiality, pigments, and distinctive scents. Earthy colors immerse us, while the smells of the fermentation process during their creation—apple vinegar, hibiscus leaves, beet juice, and green tea with a hint of lemon—are released. Afterward, a coating of natural waxes provides protection and adds its own fragrant layer to the final result.

When I carefully post-treat these dried Sensorial Skins with oils and waxes—beeswax, Ricinus oil, and coconut oil—their scents merge with the lingering fermentation aromas. These scents evoke memories, reminding me of certain moments, and fostering a sense of connection and nostalgia. Like human skin, these bacterially grown skins bear the marks of time, developing wrinkles and folds. In these micro-ecologies, stories are preserved, told through the scents that emerge. The pliability and smell of *Sensorial Skins* invite a dialogue with the material world, allowing us to appreciate the symbiotic organisms that crafted them.

3 Sensorial Skins, 2023 (Earl Grey 76cm x 74cm; Hibiscus 75cm x 75cm, Gunpowder 77cm x 76cm)

Diptique SS-1, 280cm x 73cm (detail)

Sensorial Skin – archaïc black, 200cm x 42cm