‘prophecies of dust’ by studio groovido plays with RPG-game patterns on bricks

prophecies of dust by studio groovido

When Gianmaria Della Ratta and Giorgio Casco of Studio Groovido explored the realm of RPG (role-playing game), they were inspired by the electric patterns that sizzled in the games: the pixels that dot the images, the swirls of visuals in the environment, and the design of the stools and hedges that players had to jump over. They thought they could bring such a world into reality through furniture pieces that real people could use in their home spaces and decorations that they can place within their rooms to add a sense of mellow force in the atmosphere.

That happened when the duo presented Prophecies of Dust: Bricks in the Digital Era, an exhibition comprising a shelf, a bench, and stools on display at the Temporary Art Center (TAC) in Eindhoven for the Dutch Design Week 2022 from October 22nd to 30th.

Studio Groovido challenges the brick by adding layers of lightness, movement, and personality all while highlighting the digital spaces of RPG games. Viewers can see them as they scrutinize the furniture: a gust of blown clouds over a blue-colored stool, swords printed on a tower of bricks, cresting waves over a terracotta seat, a player on a quest displayed across a divider, flecks of mini thunders on the charcoal-colored chair, repeating shackles topping rippling water on a bench, and forming faces lined in blue for the shelf.

images courtesy of Studio Groovido | photos by Mathijs Labadie (unless stated)

Studio Groovido explores RPG games

Studio Groovido researched the evolution of ‘UV Mapping’ or the process of projecting a 2D picture on the pixel unit of a 3D digital model. They followed the history of the process from Retro and Arcade RPG games to Voxel Art and Minecraft, even snaking through the recent Sandbox Metaverse, and observed the aesthetic of pixels. They were enamored by them and looked into the visuals of bricks too along the way.

They flirted with the idea of combining both for tangible products and ended up making bricks as the foundation of their series and the pixels – implied through the details of the design in the Prophecies of Dust – as the symbolic element that carpet the products. The duo believes they broke the traditional masonry grid by creating imaginative surfaces for their furniture brick collection and overlaying the brick pattern with colored pigments and glazes.

bench close-up

prophecies of dust invites viewers to scrunitize them

Through the recent technological breakthrough in the heavy clay and coarse ceramic industry, Studio Groovido was able to bring digital images on the brick surfaces for Prophecies of Dust. The development of this technology, accomplished by the company RODRUZA, confers potential creative plays to bricks. The duo’s research, combined with their desire to explore RPG games, has resulted in an exhibition where the pieces of furniture stand as landmarks in Temporary Art Center in Eindhoven.

The duo invites their viewers to explore the space, just like in an open map video game. The design studio hopes to project them into an RPG game complete with soundtrack music experience created by Richard van Kruysdijk, lighting installation, digital map, props shop, dungeon, and much more as they roam around the art center and toy with the furniture pieces.

bench