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M003 → Meu Brasil / Jenipapo
Mycelium Skin Crosslinked with Genipin found in Jenipapo fruit - This makes the Mycelium Material stronger and more flexible, as well as giving it a dark blue/black color.
Jenipapo is a Brazilian fruit used for centuries in the Amazonian region of Brazil by indigenous communities for body painting, rituals, and spiritual practices. It contains a natural crosslinker called Genipin, which gives it its powerful color.
It contains a natural crosslinker called: Genipin. The Mycelium and Genipin have a relationship worth exploring. Genipin is also what gives the skin this dark-blue-hued color. Genipin is not a pigment it’s crosslinking with the proteins on our skin, which is why it lasts around 2 weeks on human skin.
Initial Experimentation:
Chitin must first be deacetylated into Chitosan, and then the crosslink with Genipin happens. As it happens, the color becomes darker and the material stronger and more flexible.
The making of the top:
This was the starting point for a Jenipapo top. The Mycelium Skin had grown into a molded top of my chest.
Jenipapo Crosslinking:
Color change: Green to Purple/Dark blue