Art Deco armchairs with custom cushion filler, created through a process interrogating boundaries in ethics surrounding human tissue from living donors.

 

Canopé is a pair of art deco armchairs - re-upholstered and filled with rendered human fat. This soft wax-like substance softens with body heat, moulding to fit contours, part of the design of this gallery seating.

 

Adult stem cells can be extracted from fat and can be turned into bone and heart cells. Fat, or adipose tissue, is readily available and, unlike bone marrow, can be extracted in large quantities painlessly.

 

It is thought, therefore, that in the future this may provide a valuable source of stem cells for tissue engineering. Scientists are currently investigating using these cells in the formation of artificial heart valves.

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