Taking a critical approach to design, a new exhibit at the Z33 museum in Hasselt, Belgium has invited four designers to create installations that express their thoughts on commercial products. In “Designing Critical Design,” Martí Guixé of Spain, Jurgen Bey of the Netherlands, and Fiona Raby and Anthony Dunne of the U.K. use mechanisms of commercial design to pose technological, social, and ethical questions. Each is known for having distanced himself from mainstream product design, and here their critical attitudes combine with spirited forms to express a certain ambivalence.

Essentially, the exhibit consists of three solo shows. Each participating designer will present their latest work—an object, intervention in the public space, or installation—imbedded into a folio of earlier work. A fourth space, which will hold work from all of the designers, will serve to further the debate regarding the function of design and designer.

Best known for his interior design of Camper brand shoe shops, Guixé calls himself an “ex-designer.” Uninterested in contributing to the stream of designer pieces flooding the market, he instead investigates new ways of creating functional contemporary forms and turning decoration into information, such as a tattoo that doubles as a ruler.

Bey sees himself as a researcher who analyzes the world we live in, in order to discover the hidden qualities, stories, and emotional value of objects. His Cocoon Furniture, for example, gives existing furniture a new form by packaging it in a synthetic, elastic skin.

By exploring theoretical, social, cultural, and ethical implications of innovations such as biological and gene technologies, Dunne & Raby turns abstract issues into hypothetical products. Their Evidence Dolls, for example, suggest a product wherein women could store DNA samples to test for various partners’ genetic compatibility. And Huggable Atomic Mushrooms are plush toys for those trying to overcome a fear of nuclear annihilation.

“Designing Critical Design” will be on view March 4 through June 3. Entry to the exhibit is free.

source : www.interiordesign.net