Katie Quinsee - BA (Hons) Product Design and Craft
Extended Forms
Extended Forms is a body of work that explores the invisible yet constant presence of bacteria on the objects we interact with every day, proposing bacteria as a natural extension of these items. Rather than treating it as a passive subject, this series uses bacteria as a collaborator in the creative process.Each brooch design is based on bacterial growth cultivated from my silver ring that I wore over five days, documenting how microorganisms extend, distort, and reshape over time.Silver is used within the brooches themselves, creating a material link to the original ring and reinforcing the shared narrative between body, object, and microbe.By translating microbial patterns into wearable forms, Extended Forms reveals the often-overlooked processes of transformation that shape our environment. Jewellery, typically seen as fixed or permanent, is reimagined as a living archive, something shaped by growth and time. These pieces blur the boundary between the biological and the crafted.This work encourages a shift in perspective, inviting viewers to acknowledge the presence of bacteria not as something to fear, but as a quiet, invisible extension that we interact with every day.
