scratch island benches engages paris' youth through creativity and art

scratch island benches engages paris’ youth through creativity and art
all images courtesy of marion pinaffo and bonnefrite 

in a collaborative effort, french designer marion pinaffo and illustrator bonnefrite created a family of benches collectively deemed ‘island scratch’. the public pieces take on multiple sizes and shapes, and are covered in a special black coating — similar to that found on lottery tickets. beneath the top layer, the seats are covered in vibrant colors and patterns. ‘island scratch’ modules are then dropped off at a location — in this occasion junior high schools around paris — and handed over to the creativity of students. users can scratch messages, pictures, and whatever else they can imagine across the massive volumes; which are simultaneously pieces of furniture. once the coating is completely diminished, ‘island scratch’ units can be repainted and relocated to other locations, where the process begins again. 

the modules were set up in many junior high schools in paris’ north district

first marks, courtesy of sam 

scratching during break time 

works in progress

teenage creations

participants scratched entire sections to discover underlying patterns

variations from the first run 

relaxing on ‘island scratch’  

research sketches 

research collages

before being transported to another school, the islands are repainted

designboom has received this project through its ‘DIY submissions’ feature, which welcomes readers to submit their own work for publication. see more designboom readers submissions here.

edited by: nick brink | designboom