Human Gills

Human Gills by Phillipa Beale is a speculative organism for the future that offers a solution for our human body to breathe underwater, if climate change leads to rising sea levels.

In the project she shows samples of half biological, half technological starfish that, worn on the skin, offer a new underwater breathing possibility to the human body via gills. But these speculative organisms are not just an extension of our body that we might one day be able to buy as a luxury product: they are just as much an extension of our lives, as an emotional support animal. 

In her work in Spaceship Earth, the artist/educator shows a lab environment in which the visitor can observe these new animals as they grow, with soft robotics technology that makes them come to life in their water tanks. With her playful design, Phillipa Beale shows how the future issues of our planet can be explored for solutions through experimental design.