A new exhibition opening at the National Gallery of Victoria in August will explore how plants could reshape the future of design and provide an alternative to plastics and other non-renewable materials.
Opening at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia on 28 August, Plant Life: The Nature of Design will bring together more than 60 works examining the growing role of plant-based materials across furniture, architecture, craft, decorative arts, photography and film. Developed in partnership with RMIT University, the exhibition features international practitioners including Formafantasma, Joris Laarman, Crafting Plastics and East Architecture Studio alongside Australian designers Kate Scardifield, Ed Linacre, Broached Commissions and a new commission from an RMIT bio-design team.
Presented across four thematic chapters, the exhibition will showcase furniture grown from mycelium, light-reactive bio-plastics, hemp fibreboard and plant-derived resins that challenge conventional manufacturing methods.
Alongside these material experiments, Plant Life acknowledges the deep knowledge of First Nations practitioners, who have a long and rich relationship with plant materials. Works made from bull kelp, tree bark, bamboo, yaré vine and leather derived from the Amazon’s shiringa tree demonstrate enduring material traditions that continue to inform contemporary design practice. Emma Håkansson’s documentary Shiringa: Fashion Regenerating Amazonia explores sustainable leather production through traditional harvesting methods, while Brooklyn- and Medellín-based designer Chris Wolston’s Nalgona Chair celebrates Indigenous knowledge systems from Venezuela and Colombia.
Among the exhibition’s new commissions is Mycelium Wildfire Jacket, developed by industrial designer Judith Glover, material scientist Tien Huynh, microbiologist Mohamad Arekha Bentangan and bio-designer Alexi Freeman at RMIT University. Fabricated from fungi-grown mycelium leather, the prototype explores the future potential of bio-based protective clothing.
The exhibition also considers the environmental cost of conventional materials through historical works, including the 1943 Eames leg splint, prompting visitors to reconsider the unintended consequences of modern manufacturing.
Plant Life: The Nature of Design will be on display at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 28 August 2026 until 7 February 2027. Admission is free.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
