Research
Study coral morphology, microbial symbiosis and reef resilience through synthetic biology.
A sculptural study of coral resilience, living materials and new forms of public science.
Coral Sculpture / 2024 to 2025
What if an artwork could make an invisible biological relationship tangible?
The Reef Remembers is a biodegradable coral sculpture and an evolving body of work by biodesigner and synthetic biologist Rashika Sood. It translates coral morphology, microbial symbiosis and environmental stress into physical and digital form through augmented reality.
The white sculpture acts as both object and interface: a quiet surface that comes alive through AR videos documenting the experiments, organisms and processes unfolding within the SynBio laboratory. These digital layers reveal the scientific work behind the sculpture, connecting its coral-inspired form to the living systems and biotechnology research being explored in the lab.
The physical work
A reef assembled through computation and touch.
Layered, branching geometries echo the architecture of coral colonies. The work was developed through digital sculpting, iterative prototypes and large-format 3D printing, using PHA as a material pathway toward more considered fabrication.
- Methods
- Digital sculpting, additive manufacturing, AR
- Inquiry
- Coral resilience, symbiosis, climate adaptation
- Format
- Sculpture, installation and moving image
Augmented reality
The sculpture becomes a living screen.
Trigger images unlock short moving-image chapters across the sculpture. The digital layer reveals organisms, colour shifts and ecological relationships that cannot be held in a static object.
Working method
From biological observation to public encounter.
Interpret
Translate scientific ideas into sketches, digital models and a public-facing visual language.
Fabricate
Iterate the sculpture through additive manufacturing, material tests and full-scale assembly.
Activate
Use augmented reality and moving image to reveal hidden biological relationships around the physical form.
About Rashika
Working where biology, design and storytelling meet.
Rashika Sood is a biodesigner and synthetic biologist whose practice makes complex science visible, tactile and culturally resonant. Her work moves between laboratory thinking, material experimentation, digital fabrication and immersive public experiences.
She uses design as a way to ask how emerging biotechnologies might help us imagine and participate in more reciprocal relationships with living systems.
Rashika holds a PhD in synthetic biology from Macquarie University, supported by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology.
Exhibitions / commissions / collaboration