Belgian art centre Z33′s new exhibition Design by Performance explores performative trends in contemporary design. The focus of the exhibition is not on finished products, but on the production process itself where the project dictates that the object will always be changing or else has been formed by its surroundings or the specific situation it is placed in.
Participants are Atelier NL, Maarten Baas, Pieke Bergmans, David Bowen, Oscar Diaz, Edhv, Front, Martino Gamper, Simon Heijdens, Eric Klarenbeek, Sofie Lachaert & Luc d’Hanis, Laurent Liefooghe, Lawrence Malstaf, Bruno Munari, Markus Schinwald, Studio Glithero, Studio Libertiny, Tjep, Unfold & Tim Knapen.
The exhibition is divided into several sections – here we focus on Performing Objects. Z33 explain that in this section: ‘The design object becomes part of an ongoing action and duration. For instance, objects have the ability to develop, grow or evolve after having left the design studio.’
Poster Plant, Oscar Diaz; Blow Away Vase, Front
Z33 continues: ‘The Design by Animals series or the Blow Away Vase by Front are remarkable examples, the first designed by animals, the latter by the wind. Blow Away Vase from 2009 was created for Moooi and produced by Royal Delft. An original Royal Delft porcelain vase was turned into digital form using CAD software and then deformed by a digitally simulated wind force. The digitization process then enabled them to work out new parameters for the design of the vase. The Design by Animals series included the Wallpaper by Rats, where rats gnawed on rolls of wallpaper and the holes create a repeating pattern that shows through pieces of the old wallpaper.
Oscar Diaz tells us that his Poster Plants form ‘part of a series of experiments with paper and ink called ‘Slow printings’. The ‘Slow printings’ represent the most basic approach to printing, using just the bleeding of the ink on the paper to create an image. In the same way that plants absorb water in the nature, the capillary action makes the ink to go upwards, slowly filling up a predetermined area. The ink is absorbed slowly, and the image of several plants “grow” gradually as the days pass by.’
Honeycomb Vase & Paper Vases, Studio Libertiny
Another example is the Honeycomb Vase by Studio Libertiny, who only created the mould of the vase and let a colony of bees determine its final shape. The studio’s Paper Vases is a reversal of the relationship between nature and the manmade with paper treated as wood. 700 identical prints were glued together into a solid block and then using a lathe, a vase was formed from the block. The result is a paper vase, with a subtle drawing of a tree. The Paper Vases were made during a live performance by Studio Libertiny at Design Miami 2007.
The exhibition hopes to create a space where ‘things are happening’ as opposed to a static space of finished objects. Performance and process are a key element of Design by Performance, giving viewing the exhibition a degree of finding the unexpected. Z33 explain: ‘The design process is also open to external elements, such as space, nature, the audience or the end-user. The designer does not deliver a static and functionally fully defined product but a becoming-object (an object subject to change) where unpredictable and coincidental elements play a role.’
Do Break, Tjep.; Unlimited Editions, Pieke Bergmans & Madieke Fleuren
Do Break by Tjep. was designed as part of the Do Create range from Droog. Do Break is a vase that you can drop. The vase does not break and remains watertight because of a special rubber layer and the decorative cracking pattern acts as a permanent reminder of the dramatic moment.
Pieke Bergmans likes to experiment with materials and techniques in which practical and performative elements play an important role. Many of her designs are unique, handmade pieces such as the Unlimited Editions series which she developed with Madieke Fleuren. The designers explain: ‘We designed various templates that we placed into an extrusion machine. Thus, the machine extrudes endless tubes of clay. Because of the speed and flexibility of the clay, the tubes force themselves into maximum, and almost impossible, conditions and shapes. We cut the tubes from the extrusion machine and place them onto a drying table. Because we have researched the quality and maximum deformation of this clay, we have managed to develop a new product that is always unique but can be mass produced: an Unlimited Edition.’
