From personal experience to material exploration
Inner Ecology began with a personal search for understanding. Living with celiac disease led me to learn more about my intestinal health, the damage caused by the disease, and the process of healing. I became increasingly interested in the role of gut bacteria in our health and the complex relationship between the gut and the brain.
Learning that the number of bacteria in our bodies is roughly comparable to the number of human cells raised questions that extended beyond health. If our bodies are home to vast communities of microorganisms, how does this change the way we understand ourselves? These questions became the starting point for Inner Ecology.
Following the forms
My interest in human biology began years earlier, when I made drawings while studying the structures of the body. As I learned about the damage celiac disease causes to intestinal villi and their capacity to heal, I returned to these drawings, looking for a way to connect my studies with my personal experience.
At the same time, I was developing Vice-versa, a jewellery project inspired by epithelial cells. During that process, I discovered thermoforming, a technique that allowed me to transform synthetic textiles into sculptural forms. I wanted to continue exploring its possibilities.
The delicate, clustered structures of intestinal villi offered a natural direction. Their forms invited experimentation with volume, texture, and colour, bringing my interest in biology together with my material research.
Discovering through making
In Inner Ecology, I combine metal, enamel, thermoformed textiles, colourful stones, pearls, and light. Through drawing, research, and hands-on experimentation, I explore how these materials can evoke biological structures without reproducing anatomy literally.
Thermoformed textiles play a central role. Their transformed surfaces and organic forms evoke intestinal villi, while their interaction with metal, enamel, and stones creates contrasts between fragility and strength, softness and structure.
Rethinking identity
Learning about the microbiota made me question how we define ourselves. We tend to think of identity through our memories, experiences, and relationships, yet our bodies also depend on complex communities of microorganisms that remain largely invisible to us.
This became another dimension of Inner Ecology: exploring how the living systems within us challenge the idea of the body as an isolated individual.
Inner Ecology continues to evolve through personal experience, biological curiosity, and material discovery. Making allows me to investigate these questions through form, transforming what I learn into objects that can be worn and experienced.