Chair as Tabula Rasa
2020
2020
Assuming it were possible to look at the world from the perspective of tabula rasa, to go back to a blank slate and engage with language in a novel way – what would happen if the semantic meaning of an object (above all, supposedly its function) and the materiality of its word were to collide, rather than the other way around?
By creating indefinite forms/objects that hold meaning in both realms, this project aims to investigate how we perceive our surroundings through the use of language, and whether insights could be gained by trying to "unlearn" such preconditioning knowledge. As a result of this experiment stands a functional chair made of approximately 60 kg of moulded paraffin wax; a nod to the concept of tabula rasa, yet also to emphasise that the designed shapes do not exist just in one or the other realm, but are ambiguous and fluid in every aspect.
By creating indefinite forms/objects that hold meaning in both realms, this project aims to investigate how we perceive our surroundings through the use of language, and whether insights could be gained by trying to "unlearn" such preconditioning knowledge. As a result of this experiment stands a functional chair made of approximately 60 kg of moulded paraffin wax; a nod to the concept of tabula rasa, yet also to emphasise that the designed shapes do not exist just in one or the other realm, but are ambiguous and fluid in every aspect.
Replicas of the "CHAIR/CHAIR" by designer Eric Ku and one of Henri Michaux’ obscure ink drawings (plywood, clay, painter’s tape, rabbit wire mesh, cardboard, foam)
