Discarded cow intestines are given a new life in the intricate lighting installations of Danish designer Kathrine Barbro Bendixen.
The Studio KBB founder cleans and reinflates the intestines, creating translucent tubes that naturally twist around an LED lighting fixture.
Her multi-layered compositions create unusual lighting effects and draw attention to the natural details of the organic material.
Barbro Bendixen combines cow intestines with LED lighting fixtures
Copenhagen-based Barbro Bendixen first started experimenting with intestines while she was a student at Design Academy Eindhoven. After using pig intestines to make sausages for her family at Christmas, she started to think about other uses for the material.
"I was immediately fascinated," she told Dezeen. "It is a very surprising material, both aesthetically and functionally." "When wet the intestine is very soft, indefinable and unmanageable. As soon as the water runs through you can see the proportions, elasticity and the purity of the intestines," she continued.
Her multi-layered compositions create unusual lighting effects
Through her research, the designer discovered that intestines are largely discarded as a waste product in the food industry. Even sausage manufacturers tend to opt for artificial casings.
However the natural product has a number of properties that offer potential in manufacturing. For instance, it is waterproof, but also breathable.
Her latest piece is on sho...