MYCO colorsystem

MYCO Color is a biologically derived pigment system developed through fungal cultivation, transforming living organisms into a functional, biodegradable printing ink. The material is presented through three interconnected components: a petri dish containing active fungal growth, an ink cartridge filled with extracted pigment, and printed paper samples demonstrating the ink’s visual behavior. Together, these elements reveal colour as a process rather than a fixed outcome.

The colour is extracted from selected fungal species cultivated under controlled environmental conditions. During growth, the fungi produce natural pigments as secondary metabolites, influenced by variables such as nutrient composition, temperature, light exposure, humidity, and cultivation time. Once the mycelium reaches maturity, the biomass is harvested and processed using low-impact extraction methods, primarily alcohol-based solvents, to isolate the pigment. The extract is then filtered and refined into a liquid ink formulation compatible with inkjet and experimental printing systems.

The resulting colour cannot be fully standardized. Variations in tone, saturation, and opacity emerge naturally between batches, reflecting the living conditions of the organism. These fluctuations are not treated as defects but as material qualities, embedding environmental data directly into the pigment. On paper, MYCO Color produces soft gradients, organic textures, and subtle irregularities that distinguish it from petroleum-based inks. Each printed sample acts as a visual trace of biological activity rather than a purely graphic reproduction.

Unlike synthetic inks designed for permanence and resistance, MYCO Color is intentionally biodegradable. The pigments are capable of fading, decomposing, or being metabolized by microorganisms under certain environmental conditions. This temporal quality challenges conventional expectations of durability in print production and questions the long-term environmental impact of color as an industrial material.

MYCO Color proposes an alternative relationship between design and ecology. By integrating cultivation, extraction, application, and eventual decay into a single material system, the project reframes ink as a living interface between human-made artifacts and natural cycles. Color is no longer merely applied to a surface but grown, transformed, and returned to the environment.

GrowInk positions MYCO Color as both a visual medium and a regenerative material practice. It invites designers, printers, and viewers to reconsider colour not as a static resource, but as a dynamic, biological process — one that reflects growth, instability, and impermanence as essential design values.