Accidental Growth Mika Tan Page

A new material named “Wildermold Skin.” Tan now intentionally cross-contaminates her koji cultures with local molds from different sites, producing regionally distinct bioplastics.

Rather than discard, Tan isolated the contaminated cultures and found that the Trichoderma produced a flexible, water-resistant pellicle with tensile strength superior to the intended bioplastic. accidental growth mika tan

Accident revealed a new material category: locative textile —fabric that indexes the microbial history of its environment. Unrepeatable, but generative. 4.3 Spore Bank: Failed Specimens (2024–ongoing) Tan attempted to cultivate a pure strain of Aspergillus oryzae (koji) on rice waste to produce a uniform bioplastic. Contamination by wild green mold ( Trichoderma ) repeatedly occurred. A new material named “Wildermold Skin

The “accident” was not random but emergent from substrate chemistry and micro-climate. Tan notes: “I learned to read humidity like a farmer reads sky.” 4.2 Textile Index (2022–2023) Sheets of discarded cotton and linen were layered with agar and nutritional yeast, then left in an abandoned textile factory. Wild airborne spores colonized the fabric over four months. Unrepeatable, but generative