In the Netherlands, blood leftover from meat slaughterhouses is being used by Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Basse Stittgen for his new collection of objects as part of his design project called “Blood Related.” Using what is otherwise discarded animal blood, he created solid black objects like a jewelry box, stackable eggcups and a record that plays the heartbeat of a pig. His goal was to see if the liquid could be used to make solid materials from the waste material and overcome the stigma attached to blood.
He made the objects by drying the blood he personally collected from a local slaughterhouse and making a powder out of it that is then heated and pressed. The blood’s natural albumin protein acts as a binding agent or glue, thus making his objects 100% blood. “The material that results is a protein-based biopolymer,” Stittgen told Dezeen.