Design Commissions
Daphna Laurens (Daphna Isaacs Burggraaf and Laurens Manders) created the spatial design for the exhibition PLASTIC: Promises of a Home-made Future (2015).
Plastic
The exhibition was based on Tal Erez's research into the history, hazards and new possibilities of plastics. "We were invited to help translate this research into an exhibition," says Burggraaf. "In consultation with Erez and Het Nieuwe Instituut employees, the 'docubition' idea arose, which is an exhibition structured as a documentary." "
The story consisted of four parts, each with 20 scenes," Manders adds. "The first part was about the euphoria evoked by the possibilities of the new material plastic. Later parts addressed the growing concerns about the large amounts of hard-to-degrade waste that these new applications generate and the dilemmas posed by new developments such as 3D printing and the gun you can print at home. In this sense, it was an activist exhibition, and our design had to convey this aspect."
Burggraaf continues: "We constructed the exhibition from MDF panels. These were always placed slightly forward or behind one another, creating a subtle spatial reference to protest signs. The visitor may not have knowingly perceived this, but it contributed to the overall experience: we spatially communicated the activist intention. Team Thursday's graphic design contributed to this mood with text printed on tape that crisscrossed the entire exhibition. The space was kept quite dark. As well as ensuring that the many videos were visible, the darkness suited the exhibition's cautionary tone."
"We screened off the docubition's four parts using curtains made from plastic flaps, which also functioned as projection surfaces for videos," says Manders. "Erez called them the docubition's 'plot points'. These curtains ensured that visitors literally stepped into the successive 'chapters', guiding them through the narrative and physically bringing them into contact with plastic material."
The aesthetic of Daphna Laurens' designs often plays a prominent and even guiding role. "However, we took a 'subservient' approach to the exhibition design of PLASTIC," Manders stresses. "We wanted our design to create the right atmosphere and emphasise the message without overshadowing the content. To optimally convey Erez's propositions about plastic, we designed a structure that brought cohesion to a collection of diverse materials ranging from a golf ball, plastic waste and text documents to photographs and videos."
However, the designers didn't rely on taking a novel approach to this project. "We always make a set of rules for an exhibition," says Burggraaf. "For PLASTIC, we determined several heights and widths for the pedestals and panels. All of the video monitors were installed in black MDF panels. The exhibition texts and images hung in the space. The former on untreated MDF boards; the latter on black foam. As always, we were very details focused." The many conversations they had with Erez and Het Nieuwe Instituut's employees were essential: these rigorous discussions were vital to correctly understanding the subject and the spatial experience. .
_PLASTIC: Promises of a Home-made Future_ is from a series of projects about materials and their economic, cultural and social significance. Plastic was once seen as the material of the future, but in recent decades it has come to signify increasing environmental pollution and blind consumerism. With the advent of new technologies such as the 3D printer, plastic's application and meaning is once again changing. The PLASTIC exhibition was based on the research of designer and researcher Tal Erez.
Daphna Laurens
Daphna Isaacs Burggraaf and Laurens Manders, both Design Academy Eindhoven graduates, are the founders of Daphna Laurens design studio. Since 2008, Daphna Laurens has worked on a wide range of designs, ranging from unique objects and interior products to interiors, trade fair stands and exhibitions. Their designs are always striving for a balance between functionality and aesthetics: "We like the Dutch word 'vormgever', literally someone who gives shape to things. Giving shape to thoughts, objects, products and spaces is what we do."