Exhibition design by:
With the support of:
The London Design Biennale is a bi-annual event that takes place in the great network of Galleries in Somerset House, its objective is to create an exceptional and ingenious exhibition under a common theme. In its inaugural delivery, 2016, the Biennial gathered 37 nations of the world under the theme “Utopia for Design�, delivering to its visitors installations curated by the best museums and design organizations, establishing the London Biennial of Dwelling in the cultural calendar of the country and the world. By 2018 the Biennial will return for its second edition, with an expected participation of up to 40 invited countries that represent the best of international design and illustrate how design can challenge, engage, educate and surprise audiences while celebrating their unique cultural identity.
In its inaugural delivery, 2016, the London Design Biennial managed to position itself in the cultural calendar of the world:
20 days
37 exhibitions
1/4 of a million visitors
Visitors from 75 countries
More than 100 talks
Economic impact of ÂŁ 79.6M* * Total impact of the London Design Festival
The event was also covered by multiple publications of size global as: • The Guardian • CNN Style • FX Magazine • GQ • Dezeen • Wallpaper • Vogue Italy • Domus • Huffington Post • Among others
The theme in 2018, the “Emotional States”, seeks that each country explore how the design not only affects the different aspects of life but also our own being, our emotions and experiences. Emotions are universal and their meanings transcend borders; The facilities will delve into the broad spectrum of emotional life, showing varied responses that will highlight the relationship between design, emotional responses and social needs. In the delivery of 2018, “Tu Taller Design will act as representative of Colombian design, our intention is to create a space for reflection on what is known about the country and how, despite war and social conflicts, our design It has grown, developed and evolved. For this we will treat different emotional states framed in two moments: 1) fear (shame and guilt), 2) the pride and joy.
Additionally in 2018 the London Design Biennale will have the official coverage of: • The New York Times • BBC World Service • TimeOut • It’s Nice That • Google Arts & Culture Additionally we will have coverage in national media, turning the participation of Colombia into the Biennial in a great opportunity to show the country from a positive and creative perspective, where we do not deny our past but we do not let ourselves be defined by it, thus contributing to an image of country that has been rising in recent years.
THEME
The proposal to 2018’s theme, “Emotional States”, seeks to interpret the ideas of how design affects not only different aspects of life but also our own beings, our emotions and our experiences. The installation provides a space for reflection on Colombia’s history but also shows how Colombian design has developed, grown and evolved despite the war and social conflicts.
EMOTIONAL STATES
“We Colombians live in a constant contradiction between joy and fear, knowing that we live in the best country in the world” -David H. Del Valle
Responding to the theme, different emotional states will be addressed:
FEAR, SHAME AND GUILT
PRIDE
HAPPINESS AND JOY
THE PROPOSAL
Colombia is a country full of prejudices, many of them false, some true, but with the vast majority exaggerated. As a result, Colombia deals with a conflict in its perception by both people from other nations, and its own inhabitants. ‘Pain’ (as fear or guilt), ‘pride’, and ‘happiness/joy’, are emotional states that Colombians live with. They are part of the lives of Colombians, who despite having experienced a war for more than 50 years, love their country, are happy to live in it and are proud to be Colombian. The proposal consists of a journey through two spaces (one pain and an other for pride and happiness). Each space will be accompanied with sounds, relevant to the emotional state that will be created and produced by sound designers. In addition to the sounds in each space, there’ll be chairs that respond to each emotional state. A translucent fabric will separate the spaces that guides the viewer from one emotional state to another, which has a colour gradient that relates to the space which it encompasses, and expresses the transition between one emotional state and the next.
DISTRIBUTION
PAIN
The first space will invite visitors to sit on a chair that has been the victim of various types of abuse (being burned, beaten and wounded), representing real events that are part of the history of Colombia’s war. The sound accompanying this space will be created to reflect pain and suffering consisting of low frequency bass sounds and vibrations.
PRIDE, HAPPINESS AND JOY
This space will present images that are a source of pride for Colombia, as well as the feelings of happiness and joy that are expressed all over our country every day through dancing, singing and showing affection to one another. For Colombians the best way of dealing with problems is by laughing and enjoying our natural, artistic and cultural context, we are proud of others who have triumphed in life and show a positive image of our country and of course of our natural landscapes and biodiversity. The chairs in this space will show the bright colours of our culture, representing the vibrant buildings and vehicles found in Colombia, while showcasing on of the many beautiful and traditional techniques that makes us so proud.
CHAIRS AND STORAGE
Both spaces will have chairs made from a traditional Colombian craft technique called Guacamayas; inside the chairs there will be a wooden structure and outside they will be made in fique (the material of the woven roll or Guacamayas). This means that the chairs in the installation will be objects created by the ‘Laches’ indigenous people. The design of the chairs relates to the theme of happiness through the implementation of multiple colours and patterns, while at the same time showing a traditional craft technique of our country. Thus, while we represent joy through colour we also give space to the pride we feel for our roots.
Inspiration
Guacamayas technique, handicrafts from the Boyaca region in the center-east of the country.
The chair representing pain will be made with the same technique, but it will suffer all kind of abuse (being burned and damaged) so the technique won’t be fully appreciated. This will serve as a metaphor to the suffering and transformation of our people during the decades of violence and war.
BENCH
The happiness spaces also have a big sitting area manufactured using a traditional technique from the Caribbean region, which uses a metallic structure and interlaces natural or synthetic fibers to achive a combination of textures and colors.
Inspiration
This will allow the use of bright colors and textures that are frequent in this region of our country.
Tejido costeĂąo, traditional technique from the Colombian Caribbean region.
RUGS
Hand made rugs will be place under the chairs, the one form sadnes will be made out of black “fique” (the same material from the stools). The one from happiness will be made with a mixture of “fique” and metals showing the vast variety of materials and tecniques that can be use in our land.
FABRIC
A printed translucent fabric surrounds the structure, creating a divition between both spaces while allowing visitors to see shapes and shadows from the adjacent area. This fabric (100% polyester flat fabric) will feature a digital impression of images alluding to the both our emotional states and history. To ensure the material complies with the safety requirements, a fire retardant spray will be apply.
IMAGES
The pictures that will be shown printed on the fabric are going to be carefully curated by our team. For our first emotional state (Fear) the images will include: documentary photos from specialized museums, faces, ruins, war instruments, among others. For Pride we will use images that showcase our landscapes, biodiversity, and culture. Finally, for happiness we will use bright colours and the way they are use on our context for clothing, food, decoration, etc.
NB: All the copyrights permits for the images will be obtein through museums, goverment agencies or directly with the author.
SOUND
In terms of sound we apply the gradient as a way of perceiving the contrast and transition between frequency ranges. That is achieved through the absence of certain range of frequencies in one side. There are not high frequencies in the sadness zone, but the sporadic shot of fireworks, which also reminds guns. You should still listen to such fireworks in the distance, while you are in the happiness zone. That’s a way of remembering that even when we are celebrating, there’s still a lot of crying. One zone can’t hide the other. The same happens when you listen to the celebrations and happiness’ music at distance, while in the dark one. For happiness the sound focuses on celebration, on rhythm and color. This is achieve through the use of voices with different accents, rhythm reflected through a loop of colombian folklore instruments (Accordion, gaita and traditional drums) approached in an electronic way, so they can be mixed and played not in a linear narrative but a vertical structure, and the integration of field recordings and nature elements which can reflect some aspects of our diversity.
AUGMENTED REALITY
With an app created specially for the exhibition, visitors will be able to see pictures and videos, as well as hearing sounds that make Colombians both, sad, pride and joy.
A POSITIVE IMAGE
With the proposal we want to show a positive image of our country demonstrating that despite 50 years of war, Colombia hasn’t stopped designing and creating through a culture materially rich in shapes, colours, flavours, textures, stories and magical realism. We want to show that in spite of adversity and conflicts it is possible to make positive change and that through design we can change society for the better. Colombians take pride in working day by day to change the dark image that for many years we have had. We want to highlight what we are today, and bring attention, tourism and foreign investment to our country through strengthening our image.
David H. Del Valle
Administering Body: The Embassy of Colombia, London Design Team: Tu Taller Design. Curator: David H. Del Valle Supporting Bodies: MedellĂn Design Week, ProColombia, Marca PaĂs Colombia