Imagined, for uncertain times. Virtual exhibition of eleven design studios
What would it be like if …? If we were to come together as contemporaries from all corners of the earth and use our work to establish a global community, tell us about each other, create things together and connect with our audiences? Utharaa Zacharias and Palaash Chaudhary from the design studio soft-geometry were moved by this question during lockdown in California, writing to other designers whom they found motivating but had never before been in contact with. The answers, they say, were positive and heart-warming. They subsequently created a jointly initiated, virtual exhibition entitled Imagined, for uncertain times, featuring eleven design studios from nine different countries with the aim of confronting uncertain times with design and optimism. The creatives gathered ideas, images and thoughts about current questions and issues. Yeon JinYoung from Seoul, for example, displays a chair made of aluminium, a material that he says is rejected and criticised when used. Supertoys Supertoys from the Netherlands present a “Cosmic Flower Table”. The design studio soft-geometry developed a stool full of holes that are held together, while Serb Ionescu developed “Poe”, an object whose function and meaning deliberately remain a secret. All of them ideas that seek to reinforce the community feeling or make the most of opportunities. Laurids Gallée, for instance, is an Austrian designer living in Rotterdam who loves the current situation. She finds, “No one knows what is going to happen in a week’s time; everything that counts is taking place today. At times like these you can live from moment to moment.”
