David Amar, 'Raymond'
The first collection of commercial products from the Royal College of Art, London’s Design Products course was brought ‘up North’ and showcased at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art. All the pieces in the collection were selected by course leaders Tord Boontje and Gareth Williams and were created by recent graduates and members of the faculty, with some pieces created in partnership with El Ultimo Grito.
2010 graduate David Amar is one of the previous students whose work was selected to be part of the collection. David’s ‘Raymond’ table has been designed to be easily enlarged or altered to respond to the surrounding environment or spacial requirements.
Eelko Moorer, 'Jungle light'
Eelko Moorer displayed her strange, tentacled ‘Jungle light’ which is constructed from silicone cord and UV resistant urethane. The design is inspired by low budged B-movies and 1950′s movie posters – hence why it looks like some sort of alien creature hanging from the ceiling!
Greetje van Helmon, 'Sugar Jewellery'
We love the work of Greetje van Helmond who creates beautiful jewellery using sugar crystals. At first glance you would never know that the jewellery is created with sugar, as the material looks surprisingly like precious stones in their natural state. Interestingly, Greetje shares the making process with the wearer – upon purchasing one of her sugar rings you are provided with the necessary equipment to create more yourself!
Mark Owens, 'Avatar suit'/ Julien Bond, 'Pixel vases'
Marc Owens and Julian Bond drew inspiration from digital technology for their creations. Marc created a large Avatar suit which allows the wearer to physically become their own virtual character. The costume has a camera attached to the back which films the wearer and beams the images into their visor, letting them view themselves as if they were characters in a computer game.
Julian created some great pixel motif ceramic vessels which he created using his own casts which feature movable segments, meaning that with slight adjustments he can produce original ceramics each time.
Visit the Design Event site for full listings of the festival running October 14-18 2011.
For further information about the RCA Design Products Collection visit their website.
Photography by Helen Stevens.
