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BioProsthesis
Collection:CSM Museum & Study Collection
Date: January - June 2023
Artist: Arianna Pezzano
Dimensions:
45 × 45 mm (4.5 × 4.5 cm) - MISC.2023.1160.CC.1
50 mm (5 cm)- MISC.2023.1160.CC.2
60 × 65 mm (6 × 6.5 cm)- MISC.2023.1160.CC.3
Medium: Plaster, silicon, keratin
Object number: MISC.2023.1160.CC.1-3
DescriptionProsthetic nipples. Description by the designer: Bio Prosthesis is an interdisciplinary project that proposes a way for human hair waste to be used to produce customized prosthesis for people healing from breast cancer.
Patients experience physical changes during chemotherapy, with hair loss being one of the first moments when their femininity is challenged. In this project the hair lost during the therapy is collected and used to extract keratin.
Utilizing keratin as the primary material, I create a prosthesis tailored to the patient's preference. This process enables the patient to regain a sense of wholeness, with the keratin used in the prosthesis serving as a replacement for the loss of their breast, symbolically reuniting the first loss of hair with the body in the form of a prosthesis and facilitating the acceptance process and psychological healing.
To achieve a light weighted model the nipple is reconstructed through electrospinning technology and the partial or total breast-filling prosthesis is modelled following a biomimetic approach that considers the morphology of a real breast regarding its internal structure to obtain authentic mobility and feel.
By using keratin, BioProsthesis offers a different perspective on biomaterials, focusing on what the human body itself can produce, avoiding the exploitation of other living organisms. Secondly the project wants to bring an improvement in the field of prosthesis, which has often lagged behind in terms of innovation and attention to individual patient needs.
Patients experience physical changes during chemotherapy, with hair loss being one of the first moments when their femininity is challenged. In this project the hair lost during the therapy is collected and used to extract keratin.
Utilizing keratin as the primary material, I create a prosthesis tailored to the patient's preference. This process enables the patient to regain a sense of wholeness, with the keratin used in the prosthesis serving as a replacement for the loss of their breast, symbolically reuniting the first loss of hair with the body in the form of a prosthesis and facilitating the acceptance process and psychological healing.
To achieve a light weighted model the nipple is reconstructed through electrospinning technology and the partial or total breast-filling prosthesis is modelled following a biomimetic approach that considers the morphology of a real breast regarding its internal structure to obtain authentic mobility and feel.
By using keratin, BioProsthesis offers a different perspective on biomaterials, focusing on what the human body itself can produce, avoiding the exploitation of other living organisms. Secondly the project wants to bring an improvement in the field of prosthesis, which has often lagged behind in terms of innovation and attention to individual patient needs.