STUDIO FORMAFANTASMA
NUMBER 1
design & folk carft
STUDIO FORMAFANTASMA
The low chair ‘Domestica’ is an investigation by Studio Formafantasma of rural craft and its archetypes. The reference is to the gerla basket, a container usually used by farmers to collect harvested cereals and transported as a bag-pack. In some region of north of Italy, the gerla basket has in time assumed other connotations and it is often considered as a symbol of the Italian resistance movement during world war II. Women were in-fact using the basket to bring foods and ammunition to partisan forces formed by proallied Italians. As a reference to this historical connotation a little Italian flag is stitched on the military-green blanket that finish the upper part of the basket. The design of the seat refers to a small stool used as a support to help take off the gerla basket once it is full. More then designed, ‘Domestica’ appears as the result of a natural gesture, as if the basket is hung on the back of a chair and, as time passes, the two objects are fused together.
By linking the extra function of containing to the seat, Studio Formafantasma is transforming the low chair into an intimate environment, almost a nest. The design of the object and its undefined functionality invites the user to invent new gestures and rituals. Such rituals are stimulated by ancient memories evoked by the familiarity of an object rooted in tradition. As with the previous work of the studio, ‘Domestica’ re-introduces objects from rural culture into contemporary life.
Client: Dilmos Gallery Year: 2011
Daniel Costa and Dienke Dekker
THE SYMBIOSIS OF STONEWARE & PORCELAIN 2012
Daniel Costa and Dienke Dekker found a complementary way of working together, which brought them to a research into stoneware and porcelain. Two materials that complement each other as well. By bringing these materials into physical and chemical relation they finally conducted a collection of stoneware-porcelain meetings. These meetings and mergings, the prosperous symbiosis of the two materials was the leading voice in their research. Deformation, shrinking, translucency, complementary beauty and the stack-ability of our research objects form the outline of the investigation: As porcelain deforms easier than stoneware an organic softness can be achieved. The combination of stoneware and porcelain allows subtle plays with light. Tactile qualities of stoneware complement the smoothness of pure porcelain.
JO MEESTERS
PULP 2.0
PULP started as a collection of interior design products made out of paper waste using discarded vessels as positive-image moulds. The collection is the result of a thorough research on new applications for paper waste by adding water resistant properties. A mixture of shredded newspaper, glue and water is applied in several layers on the surface, dried, and finally cut into two removing it from the mould. The pieces are glued back together before applying the last layers of the PULP mixture. The inside of the vessel is then treated with an epoxy resin, leaving a strong and water resistant coating. Since 2008, Studio Jo Meesters has been working on the project TESTLAB, experimenting on the rejuvenation and the reuse of discarded materials. Using the PULP Collection as a foundation, Studio Jo Meesters reinvented TESTLAB to create a series of paper furniture, researching the potential of paper pulp for furniture
applications by upcycling cardboard panels and old newspapers. The PULP Furniture Collection consists out of a table, a chair, four pendant lamps and a cabinet. The material seemingly balances between structural and aesthetical qualities generating a robust and highly tactile result.
NUMBER 2 materials
ATELIER NL Sand journeyThe world lies beneath your feet; sand is the simplest and most obvious raw material that we know. Following the route a grain of sand travels, makes your heart skip a beat. The connections unravelled by such a quest show the deeper layers of our existence. At the same time, nothing is more fun than to play in a heap of sand. Experience the account of an expedition for sand in Europe and the ways in which this material can in its applications exude transience as well as a sense of eternity.
KRISTIE VAN NOORD
Ceramic artist and designer Kirstie van Noort is passionate about doing material based research, and discovering new methods. Kirstie van Noort lives and works in Eindhoven, and presented an overview of her Cornwall project during this years Dutch Design week, along with a new research project based on handmade layered ceramics and their imperfections. “Curious to know about the origin and production of china, I spent two weeks in Cornwall in the UK. Here, large quantities of china clay are extracted every year. Until the nineties, there were dozens of mines from which copper, tin and silver was extracted. But the prices of the materials dropped, and all mines were forced to close down. The result is a landscape that has been left with the remains of the mines. Not just the buildings, but also the piles of raw materials that have been discarded by the industry make a colourful pattern in the landscape. The three ceramic objects Bugle, Geevor and Nanpean have been named after the places where the materials were found, and reflect the three most important industries in this area, namely tin, copper and china clay.
NUMBER 3
INDUSTRY AND MASS PRODUCTION
EDWARD BURTYNSKY CHINA - Artist’s Statement mass consumerism and the resulting degradation of our environment intrinsic to the process of making things to keep us happy and fulfilled frightens me. I no longer see my world as delineated by countries, with borders, or language, but as 7 billion humans living off a single, finite planet.” COAL & STEEL: Bao Steel is the sixth largest steel producer in the world. The company employs 15,600 people. Almost all of Bao Steel’s iron ore is imported, being sourced in Australia, Brazil, South Africa and India. MANUFACTURING: In the province of Guangdong, one can drive for hours along numerous highways that reveal a virtually unbroken landscape of factories and workers’ dormitories. These new ‘manufacturing landscapes’ in the southern and eastern parts of China produce more and more of the world’s goods and have become the habitat for a diverse group of companies and millions of busy workers.
OLD INDUSTRY: State-owned enterprises are rapidly being demolished and rebuilt at industrial parks outside the city, along with many other new factories. Property once used by these immense old factories is now being designated as residential and commercial, spurring real estate frenzy in Shenyang. Inexpensive labor from the countryside, important as it is to China’s growth as a trading nation, is one major facet of its success. Just as important is a rising industrial production capability. China now plays a central role in the global supply chain for the world’s multinational corporations. RECYCLING: E-waste is hazardous and its processing is a high-risk endeavor even in state-of-theart facilities. In China, e-waste recycling is, for the most part, not yet a refined industry. Once the scrap arrives at its destination, workers use their hands and primitive tools to pick apart the junked computers and salvage precious components. In the process they expose themselves and their environment to toxic elements such as lead, mercury and cadmium. SHIPYARDS: With over 12,000 workers using 500,000
tons of steel, Qili port shipyards build 232 to 250 ships per year. According to the Chinese Commission for Science, Technology and and National Defense, by 2015 China is expected to become the world’s largest shipbuilder, with annual output reaching 24 million deadweight tons, or 35 per cent of the world’s total. URBAN RENEWAL: The images in the China series communicate the enormity of the transition that is taking place there as the country moves increasingly towards a large-scale urbanization and more workers relocate for employment in the manufacturing industries. Not only are new cities emerging but immense urban renewal efforts are also underway.