Mindcraft
Milan | 2014
Mindcraft at Milan Furniture Fair
Showcasing Danish Crafts
MINDCRAFT is an exhibition showcasing some of Denmark's most talented designers and craftspeople. Every year, a different curator gets invited to demonstrate the qualities, potential and versatility of new Danish design and craft. In 2014, Studiomama was invited to curate the show.
Materialising Beliefs
Under the title ‘Materialising Beliefs’, we explored the link between artistic experimentation in a workshop setting and the contribution to the global discussion on the future of making, one in which the handmade will play a central role.
Powerful and relevant work is created in artisan workshops, where craftsmanship skills are maintained and developed through tens of thousands of hours of immersion in the making process. This process contrasts with industrial global production, which is becoming increasingly uniform, simplified, and vulnerable to plagiarism.
Craftsmanship not only provides a timely response, but also serves as an important inspiration for innovation and development in industrial production.
The exhibition showcased new work from each of the 12 selected craftspeople. It included a fragile bracelet woven from mechanical pencil lead, a delicate dust-collecting stool, and a lampshade that looks like a skirt that was picked up by the wind.
The unique energy of the craftspeople and works borne out of their special design skills, insights, and material understanding were on display. Powerful yet understated concrete and wooden plinths, along with simple signage, allowed the exhibits to take center stage.
CLIENT: DANISH CRAFTS
DESIGN: Studiomama
PHOTOGRAPHY: © Jeroen van der Wielen
‘Here, it is recognized that craft can bring back physicality and texture to design and add context and rootedness that will always enrich the results…If craft is the future of design, then design is also the future of craft.’
– Wallpaper* Editor at Large, Henrietta Thompson.