≠ C₈H₈O₃
Exploring the history of vanilla flavouring, 2018
Crystal Bennes (US)
Vanilla is one of the world’s most in-demand flavours, and yet only 1% of it comes from a natural source. Most vanilla on the market today is man-made vanillin, a synthetic single chemical compound and a much cheaper product. As consumers increasingly demand all-natural products, the industry is turning to synthetic biology for new ways to create ‘all-natural vanillin’. Considering consumer demand, product scarcity and environmental circumstances, is natural really the most important consideration when it comes to vanilla? If given the opportunity, could you even taste the difference between real and imitation?
BIO
Crystal is an American-born artist and writer based in Edinburgh. Her project-based work is grounded in the relationship between science and society, and combines academic research methodologies with traditional and innovative modes of material experimentation.
Her recent bodies of work have investigated the visual culture of particle physics experiments at CERN, the history of the idea of human progress, and the relationship between the geology of Paris Basin mining activity since Roman times and the city’s famous limestone-dependent architecture. Her current work explores the history of atomic models from ancient India and cutting-edge models based on quantum microscopy.