apparatu: skate fails

one of the ‘ftc’ works, designed by apparatu and alex trochut

‘ftc’ is a collection of ceramic ‘skate fails,’ produced by apparatu (spanish artist xavier manosa ciria) in collaboration with alex trochut.

the skates break, bend, leak, and slide in impossible configurations. all are ceramic, with either a colored glaze or silver, gold, or aluminum plating.

some of the pieces are plated in gold, silver, or aluminum

taking an instinctive approach to the design process, apparatu emphasizes the fundamental destructibility of their creations, which despite their solid appearance, are ceramic and thus quite fragile.

the studio’s name can be characterized as either mispoken german (‘apparat’) or misspelled catalan (‘aparatu’), but in both cases signifies the word for a device or appliance.

the skate being formed from clay

 drying the rolled and bent pieces for one of the works