tord boontje: the lacemaker marsden woo gallery, london on now until july 31st, 2010
raffia lamp all photography by phil sayer
in dutch designer tord boontje‘s new collection of work, he overturns conventional expectations of what lace might be:
‘with lace, all the value is invested in the labour and so it seemed a good idea to start working with cheap materials. but also, by changing the material you can change the references.’ – tord boontje
his exhibition ‘the lacemaker’ at marsden woo gallery, includes lighting, furniture and fashion pieces constructed from low-tech materials using traditional craft skills. included is a dramatic black sofa that emerges as a large three-dimensional web-like structure of bound and knotted aramide and dynema fibres. there are curtains composed in a random pattern of tangled flora, along with a selection of hanging lights which are all made from natural raffia. other smaller, more delicate works include jewelry, such as necklaces, a hairpiece and test samples that are made from natural materials, including grass.
this body of work was influenced by boontje’s invitation by the design center at the university of philadelphia earlier this year, to respond to their historic quaker lace company collection which was presented in an exhibition entitled ‘lace in translation’. on this occasion, boontje spent three days immersed in the center’s archives and the resulting new pieces contain quotes from the original lace articles that attracted his attention.
general exhibition view
raffia dress
raffia mirror
material samples
working samples
lace curtain
lace sofa
general exhibition view
