a narrative selection of stolen products by marc dibeh

a narrative selection of stolen products by marc dibeh
all images courtesy of marc dibeh

presented at the artfactum gallery during the 2014 beirut design week, lebanese designer marc dibeh has created ‘a narrative selection of stolen products.’ for the exhibition, the gallery explains his process: ‘dibeh made a list of places he wanted to crash. the homes of 14 people he knew. or didn’t. from these places he took memories, of the people in them, the conversations that took place. or didn’t. he then wrote a stream of consciousness text of what he remembered. or didn’t. from each of these texts, he pulled out one sentence that stood out the most, and he made a product out of it.‘ as a result, lining the space are kitchenwares, furnishings, and decorations formed from materials such as wood, gold, steel, and copper. in the background of each supporting pedestal, these everyday objects are accompanied by a typographic quote from the mind of the artist that have been pressed onto the white walls walls. each pairing is a commentary on human psychology, exposing the thin boundaries between our conscious and subconscious perceptions of events and memories.

general view of the exhibition

general view of the exhibition

‘had this feeling that we were having dinner in the most sumptuous palace’ – platter and cloche made of oak wood and brass

‘she had this brilliant idea, while escaping her apartment during the war, to remove all the ‘murano’ mirrors from this piece of furniture she had, and she kept them in a box for decades’ – wall decal made of steel, copper, and mirrors

‘never have I eaten and laughed this much’ – bread basket made of brass and oak wood

‘try to sleep after tasting his coffee…’ – shovel made of plated copper and maple wood

‘when I asked her if she wanted some wine, she smiled at me and said no.’ – rocking horse made of maple, steel, and fabric

‘after dinner, he reclined on the divan like a diva’ – chaise lounge made of brass and velvet

‘I couldn’t look away from lego model of a death star her 9-year-old son was working on while she was showing me her ceramic pieces in the dining room’ – death star-shaped bowl made of ceramic, gold paint, and maple wood

‘when you go to her place, you’ll realize that most of the star wars toys are actually not her 3-year-old son’s’ – lightsaber-shaped lamp made of stainless steel and glass

‘his place is a museum…’ – table lamp made of marble and copper.

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.