London-based artist lauren bowker and her material exploration studio THE UNSEEN has developed a form of wind reactive ink that changes color according to different fluctuations in the air and around the body. demonstrated in a couture capsule collection designed for swarovski entitled ‘air’, the biological and chemical technology is integrated into layers of fabrics, morphing its RGB values in response to pressure change. similar to how formula one visualizes aerodynamics, through strands of color surrounding the car, ‘air’ is able to translate an environmental force into a graphic display.
The nano compounds / inks and dyes are capable of sensing up-to seven stimuli in the environment such as heat, UV, pollution, moisture, chemicals, friction and sound. each of these stimuli have a different color changing effect on a given surface. for instance, heat affects color in RGB and pantone irreversibly, where pollution can only go back and forth, from yellow to black.