Ruth Lloyd

Ruth is a London based design researcher, exploring sustainable, circular and regenerative systems of colour.

Throughout her Textiles MA she has developed practice-based research focused on the creative potential of microbial pigments, investigating how these living colour systems present solutions and replacements to the global reliance on toxic petroleum-based colour and dye systems. 

Ruth engages with design education, research & development and industry partners within the context of Future Systems. 

The journey continues as Ruth embarks on a PhD at the Living Systems Research Lab at Central Saint Martins, London in September; and takes part in the first Creative Residency at Colorifix, a UK based start up working to develop and commercialize bacterial dyes, where she will further explore the capacity of colour producing microorganisms to create human designed patterns.

With thanks to the John Innes Centre for Research & the Truman Lab.

Re:imagine \ Streptomyces Coelicolor \ Sunset Hues.

A re-imagining of textile colour systems focused toward planet-positive solutions.

The last few months have seen the development of a collaborative relationship with the bacterial strain Streptomyces Coelicolor M520. Days and weeks have been spent learning its preferences and desires, how it thrives, what will encourage its growth, and what will cause it to shrink away or cease to grow at all. Significant time has been spent understanding this micro-organisms agenda and in-built systems of living, so I am able to work alongside it in a collaborative manner, creating intentional parameters to produce natural colour and pattern.

Through this research I have developed a systematic explorative framework which allows me to investigate the creative potential of a colour producing micro-organism through the use of scientific protocols in combination with traditional and innovative textiles processes.

I am still learning, each day, the nuances and subtlety that comes with this bacterial strain and how I can adapt my thinking and processes to produce not only an abundance of pigment, but skilfully manipulated pigmented patterns.