Objects

FORMAFANTASMA upgrades e-waste. MATERIALS are in disguise. STUDIO KLARENBEEK & DROS prints with algae. Discover new directions in the world of products.

Formafantasma delves into the afterlife of ELECTRONIC WASTE

REUSE – Formafantasma addresses the shortcomings of e-waste recycling with a presentation of recent work that places design thinking at the crux of the global problem. Commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Ore Streams is a furniture showcum-video installation: together they form an ecological metaphor for the complex circulation of electronic waste that spans the world, without regard for political boundaries.

Ore Streams features collage-like office furniture made from an array of repurposed items, including old microwaves and keyboards. Displayed in a workplace context, the pieces highlight the themes of efficiency and organization. Images of the surface of Mars add to the show’s alien atmosphere. Visitors are encouraged to contemplate production in all its guises.

An 18-channel video installation depicts the afterlife of electronic devices – an estimated 70 per cent of which never reach an appropriate recycling facility – and outlines design strategies that can make recycling safer, such as the creation of more efficient connections and a universal colour-coding system.

By 2080 the largest metal reserves are predicted to be no longer underground but in ‘ingots stored in private buildings’ or in a wide range of consumer electronics. Formafantasma demonstrates the power of design to close the e-waste loop by tackling both ends of the production line. – AS

Ore Streams is open until 15 April 2018 formafantasma.com

Screen-based or tangible: is it a MATTER OF PERCEPTION?

FINISHES – From smart devices to smart homes, technology is embedding itself into every aspect of our lives, adding layers of interaction and visual play to the surfaces that surround us. In theory, the shift towards digitized environments ought to render inanimate objects stale and monotonous, were it not for designers experimenting with colour and low-tech techniques in an attempt to hoodwink human perception. It’s all about adding analogue layers to everyday objects to produce a sense of interaction. – SLA

The dynamic visual effect of Flux resembles that of a digital screen, yet the process behind it is completely analogue. Design Academy Eindhoven graduate TAMARA VAN ROIJ embroidered three layers of viscose yarn in different directions and colours – yellow, magenta and cyan – to make a rug that plays with perception when viewed from different angles and in different types of light.

tamaravanroij.com

Chromatic Ray, a collaboration between MILA CHORBADZHIEVA and ADRIAAN DE MAN, explores how light interacts with material and colour. Commissioned by Dutch Invertuals for Dutch Design Week’s Luxaflex exhibition, the installation features polyester-resin prisms in transparent blue, which filters light, and opaque red, which reflects it. Motors move the prisms up and down and rotate the installation on its axis, creating a spatial interplay with both surroundings and observers.

milachorbadzhieva.com adriaandeman.net