europe bans all plastic cutlery from july 3rd, 2021

on july 3rd 2021, europe’s ban on plastic cutlery will come into effect meaning that disposable cutlery produced in the previous decades will thereby become artifacts of our recent past. curated by thomas a. geisler and designed by kai linke and peter eckart, the german pavilion at the london design biennale highlights this event by presenting a consumption-critical project titled spoon archeology.

all exhibition images by heiko prigge

the spoon archeology exhibition at the german pavilion at the london design biennale 2021 features a comprehensive collection of disposable cutlery made of plastic and other materials which kai linke and peter eckart have collected and studied over many years. mass-produced, cheap, easy to transport and to be disposed, plastic cutlery is a global phenomenon that has turned into a global problem — and it is in fact, a symbol of our throwaway culture. by staging them as archeological remnants, the pavilion acts as a contemporary witness of an era that is about to end.

‘design is a willing accomplice in the implementation of lifestyles that we are taking for granted’ said thomas a. geisler, director of the kunstgewerbemuseum and curator of the german pavilion. ‘the climate crisis and the pandemic teach us to change our habits, to listen to our intuition and to gain empathy in order to resonate with the environment. with an understanding of complex connections, design can create awareness and help us tackle outdated systems.’

the spoon archeology exhibition will also showcase the little-known documentary banana leaf (1972) created by ray and charles eames which celebrates the reduction of tableware to a simple banana leaf. the installation thus continues to raise questions concerning the tensions between design and the sustainable use of resources.

image by helena reinsch

graphic by liun kim

project info:

name: spoon archaeology – german pavilion at the london design biennale 2021
curator: thomas a. geisler
designer: kai linke & peter eckart
partners: staatliche kunstsammlungen dresden, kunstgewerbemuseum, german embassy london, auswärtiges amt der bundesrepublik deutschland (foreign office)
supporters: auswärtiges amt, staatliche kunstsammlungen dresden, hochschule für gestaltung offenbach, rat für formgebung hessisches ministerium für wissenschaft und kunst, freunde der hfg foundation, wmf deutschland