(Image: Studio Swine)
There鈥檚 a bizarre twist to these combs pictured above. They may look like they are made from tortoiseshell or exotic wood, but they are in fact made of human hair.
The Shanghai Art Deco-style combs, created by designers from the London-based , are on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London as part of that explores how we might define luxury in the future.
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Inspired by the hair trade in China, which is the world鈥檚 biggest exporter of human hair, the combs are made from a composite material that the designers developed themselves: human hair set in resin. It was conceived as a sustainable alternative to dwindling supplies of natural materials like wood: hair is, after all, a natural resource that increases in supply as the world鈥檚 population expands.
(Image: Jellyfish Installation, 2010, Steffen Dam)
Another series of objects on show exploits glassmaking imperfections to create fine art. Artist introduced impurities like bubbles and soot into the process, combined with layers of carbon and silver foils, to produce the jellyfish-shaped creations pictured above. The resulting 鈥渟pecimens in jars鈥� play on our perceptions of luxury by fashioning high-value items out of what are technically flaws.
(Image: Studio Drift, Courtesy of Carpenters Workshop Gallery)
This chandelier, also on display, is centred on a block of concrete and adorned with bronze circuitry and dandelion seeds. A team from design company , based in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, built it by laboriously fixing hand-picked seeds to each LED light.
is on at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London until 27 September 2015