Starting next Monday, Design Days Dubai opens its doors for a chance to view a curated select list of design galleries - we look at new work from Studio Drift.
Showing with the London-based Carpenters Workshop Gallery (who now also boast a Paris showroom), the design team of Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn, alias Studio Drift, will be showcasing a new version of their well-loved Fragile Future sculpture.
Conceived originally by Lonneke Gordijn as part of her graduation project from the Design Academy Eindhoven, Fragile Futures sees handpicked dandelion seeds connected one by one to LED lights to turn the delicate blooms into transmitters of light with the help of three-dimensional bronze electrical circuits.
A heavily labour intensive process, the new updated Fragile Future III will be on show in Dubai next week. Having recently created a version as a chandelier incorporating a concrete block, the new design stands this idea on its head. Design.nl spoke with Lonneke Gordijn about Fragile Future III.
In what way have you updated the Fragile Future light sculpture for Design Days Dubai? and why?
"We are working for the first time with Belgian hardstone, in combination with the work Fragile Future. It is a beautiful material and it provides a strong contrast with the fragile modules and dandelions. We have made two freestanding objects and are exploring the possibilities of making more freestanding sculptural pieces. For this we need an additional material for strength. We were very pleased with the result from the stone and with the quality of the material. We would like to explore further this material and combination." To what do you attribute the continuing popularity of the Fragile Future light sculptures? "The dandelions themselves and their fragile beauty - but perhaps also the limitless possibilities within the project." In what ways will you continue to adapt the Fragile Future sculpture in the future? "We still have not made what we really want to make with this project: a landscape of Fragile Future, in a beautiful space." Fragile Future III by Studio Drift will be on show in booth 22 with Carpenters Workshop Gallery from March 17-21 2014 at Design Days Dubai.
www.studiodrift.com