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Moka Made using two found objects, a percolator and a vegetable rack, this task lamp is a play on the affordance of productivity given by that first hit of caffeine in the morning. Spilling onto the desk, the light provides the user clarity and focus without the stained documents and fried laptops that come with the all too common coffee related incidents.
Ore
Utilising the structural properties of woollen felt and polypropylene this lamp becomes a versatile form able to be positioned in multiple orientations, providing either task or ambient light. Due to the threaded construction of the lamp, it can be easily deconstructed at the end of its life and separated into its natural and man made components for recycling and composting.
Brace Using what is usually considered waste as a fundamental component, each stool prevents nearly 6 metres of waste fibre optic cable casing from ending up in landfill. The HDPE tube is heated and bent into shape, then bolted and joined to the wooden seat, reminiscent of the lumber spools the cable is usually stored on. The structure of the legs is dictated by the high tension but low compression strength of the tubing.
Håll Meaning ‘to sustain’ in Swedish, the Hall collection utilises the structural properties of thermoformed PET Felt. By harnessing the thermodynamic properties of the felt, a solid compound structure can be made using a two part mould. With the right amount of heat and pressure the fibres soften and meld together, resulting in a chaotic three dimensional structure throughout the material making it rigid but maintaining its pleasant haptic and sound absorbent properties.
Assembly of this collection is done with a simple allen key, when they have reached the end of their usable life in this form, they can be easily disassembled and sorted for recycling into other useful objects.
Olympus B2 Frustrated with the choices of camera available without the bloat and excess features that interrupt the shooting experience I decided to design my own, focusing on minimising clutter and required input whilst increasing efficiency, ease of use and functionality. Three tactile buttons and a thumb wheel allow the user to adjust the aperture, shutter speed and activate the flash.
When all the buttons are compressed the camera is fully automatic, if the user requires more control, decompressing the relevant button allows them to adjust a particular variable using the thumbwheel, the other variables will automatically adjust to compensate and achieve correct exposure unless also decompressed.
Initial concept
Refined concept
Fig 1.
Fig 3.
Fig 2.
Fig 4.
Fig 1- Pushing the Flash button seen in Fig 3. charges the flash, when ready the translucent frosted area glows orange. Fig 2 - All necessary information such as the exposure (left), remaining frames (right), aperture, shutter speed and flash charge are also shown in the viewfinder. Fig 3 - An LED screen inside each button shows the current value. Fig 4 - The shutter release button has two concentric metal rings with a low current, unknown to the user their finger bridges the circuit and the camera turns on.
Photography Interested in how the brain fills in gaps to compensate for lack of knowledge, I experiment with composition and vacancy of information to subliminal impel the viewer to develop their own narrative and structure. The information they use to fill in the gaps in information will by default be from their own experience, making each viewer’s perception of the piece unique to them.
Mechanical Primordial
After being approached by fashion designer Elisabeth Kamaris for collaboration, I worked with her to produce plywood armour for her award winning collection. The plywood was screen printed before lamination to create a unique visual contrast and composition that juxtaposes the felt in the pieces.
Project description by Elisabeth: “This project represents my personal belief that today’s Western Society and the forces at play turn governments into a puppet show. ‘Mechanical’ refers to the individual human beings within society; the indoctrination of the worker and inability to climb the socioeconomic ladder. The west is governed by the capitalist ideologies of globalisation and imperialism, much like a puppet show, our attention is captured by the story being told rather than the people telling it. Social and societal pressures, laws and regulations influenced or enforced by the elite carve a predestined path preserving their own self interests whilst the masses are dazzled by entertainment and the illusion of choice. The cultural revolution of the DADA movement during the early 20th century fought against the established norms of society, this collection references the silhouettes and juxtapositions created by the performances and pieces during this highly experimental era.”
In a Second Inner Fiction
Here I worked closely with photographer Mark Wright to research, design and produce protective sleeves for his photographic books entitled “In a Second, Inner Fiction”, comparing spontaneous pictures taken by Wright’s grandfather to his own within a single book. The archival nature of the project made cork an obvious choice due to its water resistant, fire retardant, bacteria killing and shock absorbing properties.
Project description by Mark: “In a Second, Inner Fiction explores the small moments of clarity we experience in our lives. From the early stages of this project collating my Grandfather’s photographs, to the fleeting reflections whilst walking with a camera, these moments of clarity serve to enlighten us at undefined and unexplained times. The idea of a memory closely links to photography and our ability, and inability, to create our own narratives from images. Photography affords us the opportunity to suggest a story and for the viewer to collect and take the story further.”