www.claireferreira.com

RCA Show 09

Royal College of Art, 26 June - 5 July 2009

Rush Bags

Downside Up Table

Downside Up Shelf

" Observing the daily crisis of looking for something in a bag, I struck upon the notion of turning it 'upside down' as a means of creating an opportunity out of the crisis. Things 'spilling over' led me to explore the 'over pouring' process and its upside down outcome to generate new typologies of objects. "

CRISIS SHOP.SOLD OUT! Milan Furniture Fair

Rush bag 180°

CRISIS SHOP.SOLD OUT! Milan

Rush bag 90°

CRISIS SHOP.SOLD OUT! Milan

Rush bag 360°

OVER & UP, resin experiment

'Pouring with bioresin outside of the glass' 2nd try in controlling the pouring shape.

'Pouring' echoes the function of serving in its gesture and its physical result.
How a spilled glass could turn into a cocktail glass with an additional surface
to offer appetizers?

Pouring with clear bioresin outside of the glass.
The resin stays very flexible as it is a really thin layer.
The contrast between the glass and the fluid texture is interesting.

CRISIS SHOP, sketches

Merchandising product for Milan, version 2

The economic crisis transforms purses and wallets into empty containers.
Made out of a tubular piece of fabric, Tbag reverses the volumes of an ordinary bag.
Especially designed for the Milan furniture fair, its outlines are pockets to slip leaflets business cards, and documents into whilst the main volume can hold jackets and scarves.

OVER & UP

Feeding with references

In parallel of my research, I'm looking at artists and designers having similar approaches, and I'm collecting elements, images, stories from all areas that I find interesting, organized around bipolar themes like:
pouring/over pouring, control/freedom, nature/reverse nature & gravity.

AROUND THE THEME'S PAGE > Reverse The Crisis' references blog

Link also on the right column.
Let me know if you think of someone's work or feel free to send me some links!

Researching materials

The structural strength can be assured by nylon mesh or other chopped materials to mix with the pourred substance. Self-skinning foam is also an interesting material to look at.

Researching materials

Demonstration in the clay studio with Canonbury art shop about Jesmonite (powder) and Bioresins (liquid), which substitute polyester and epoxy resins.

I will try to get them as a sponsor for the Degree show.

I will experiment with a flexible resin as well as a very strong or even reinforced one - also in contact with others materials like wood and plastic - to see how the material reacts and figure it out which ones seem to be the most appropriated one.

CRISIS SHOP, sketches

Merchandising version of Rush bag (from october 2008) for Milan furniture fair.

Planning OVER & UP project

HOW - Research materials
- define specific tests (models + 1:1)
- look for materials for the mould-base + for pouring
- work out the structural strength
> in order to control the principle

WHERE - Design Scene Investigate
- identify design manufactures (where the product could relate to)
- find industrial processes (other alternatives)
- think of the scale of production
> in order to position the product in the market

WHAT - Contextualize
- scope opportunities of the idea
- set up situations & scenarios
- think of functions which echoes the pouring one
> in order to define a purpose and open to a family of objects

OVER & UP

stool + table side > shelving unit

Establishing a process

Designing a mould-piece

I'm now working on a family of elements - stool, table side, shelving unit...
creating micro architectures based on the over pouring process and the upside down emergent surface. Between a controlled element - the mould - and a less controlled one - pouring - I'm exploring the technique's possibilities in terms of materials and applications.

Finding relations

TABLE LEG - LEG TABLE

For the 'work in progress show at the RCA' in december, I used the opportunity to create an extra table surface in over pouring a table leg to then turn it upside down - the table leg is used as a sacrificial mould. 'The drop that makes the jar overflow' quote I chose to do a poster, expresses the idea of having heavy consequences out of details.

OVER POURING crisis

Emergence follows emergency

This experience demonstrates how to take advantage of the outflow. Turned upside down, an additional surface emerges.

Experimenting

I started to explore the relation between a container and its content, and what is happened when the content goes over the mould. I then integrated the idea of damaging the mould to create holes, cracks and so on, in order to provoke a crisis and play with it.