Personal Information
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Given name: ANGELA









Surname: FRAGKOU









Email: fragkou.angela@gmail.com









I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'.: Yes









I agree to the terms of service.: Yes













Your contribution
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Title: A colourless colour









Format: Poster presentation (6)









Main language: English









Abstract:
This poster presents A Colourless Colour, an artistic research project developed within the Computer Sculpture Lab, Athens School of Fine Arts that investigates how structural colour-produced by nano-scale organization of matter rather than pigments—can reframe artistic materiality and ecological responsibility. 
The project emerges from the experimental 3D Biohub, an interdisciplinary platform connecting digital sculpture, biotechnology and genetics, in collaboration with the iGEM Athens Team and the Agricultural University of Athens. It explores how living systems that naturally exhibit structural colour, such as colonies of Flavobacterium IR1, may inform the development of non-toxic, bio-derived materials for 3D printing and sculptural practice. 
Unlike chemical colour, dependent on pigments and toxic dyes, structural colour arises from the self-organization of micro- and nano-structures that refract light. Certain bacterial biofilms display vivid iridescence through this mechanism. By studying genetic pathways enabling cellulose secretion as an extracellular matrix, the research examines whether this colour phenomenon can be imprinted onto a printable biomaterial. 
The poster documents the methodological pathway—interdisciplinary workshops, artistic archiving, digital modelling and laboratory observation—through which biological self-assembly becomes both a conceptual and material model for artistic production. Structural colour is approached not simply as an optical effect, but as a paradigm for re-imagining how matter organizes itself, how colour can exist without pigment, and how art can mediate biotechnological knowledge in the public sphere. 
A Colourless Colour addresses ecological concerns linked to the paint and textile industries and proposes colour as an emergent property of living matter, opening a dialogue between art, science and environmental ethics.










Image: https://www.sar2026.ie/system/files/webform/submit_contribution/101/photo_6%CE%B1.png









Short biographies of the presenter(s):
- Angela Fragkou is a new media artist, researcher and organic chemist working at the intersection of art, biotechnology and digital fabrication. She holds a PhD in Bio Art from the Athens School of Fine Arts and an MSc in Organic Chemistry from the University of Copenhagen. She initiated the 3D Biohub with the Computer Sculpture Lab, Athens School of Fine Arts and the iGEM Athens Team, exploring structural colour and biomaterials in art. Her work combines laboratory methods, bio-art, and ecological material thinking through interdisciplinary workshops, publications and exhibitions.










Previous presentations or iterations of the research:
Earlier iterations were presented through the 3D Biohub workshop & exhibition (2020–21) at the Computer Sculpture Lab, Athens School of Fine Arts with the iGEM Athens Team, Creator Doctus doctoral presentations, a 2022 lecture at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a talk at Onassis Stegi, and related publications (2025) and conference presentations (2021–23).














Requirements
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Additional information:
Supporting material, documentation of previous iterations, publications and the 3D Biohub project can be accessed here:
[publication links] 
https://www.hilarispublisher.com/open-access/reimagine-the-behavior-of-living-matter-the-colorless-color-and-an-artificial-nanostructure-in-contemporary-art-113726.html
https://daysofart.gr/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/%CE%A0%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B9%CE%B5%CF%87%CF%8C%CE%BC%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B1-Contents-13.pdf
[3D Biohub / project link] 
https://2020.igem.org/Team:Athens/Collaborations
http://www.sculpture.asfa.gr/Lectures/3dBIOHUB.pdf
[personal website] https://www.angelafragkou.org/3d-biohub










Spatial and technical requirements :
Poster presentation requirements










Potential risks or ethical concerns:
No ethical concerns are anticipated. The presentation includes only a poster and visual documentation of laboratory-prepared biomaterials. No live organisms, hazardous chemicals, physical samples, or participant interaction are involved. All referenced materials follow standard laboratory safety practices and are presented purely as documented research.










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