(Archive) MATERIAL PROFANATION

THERE’S A ROOSTER IN A CAR TIRE SHOP IN SOUTHERN TEXAS. HOW’D IT GET THERE?

Inherent to this exhibition is a desire to step away from the traditional program that Dutch Design Week and other major design expositions follow. Where objects and research are largely displayed in one of a handful of formats––large trade-show style exhibitions, inside the studios that they were created or on their own in a white cube format. In each case, objects and materiality are largely removed from any kind of context and the audience is forced to rely upon the narratives that they use in navigating the world outside of these design exhibitions, creating a very limited capacity in which objects can be interpreted.

MATERIAL PROFANATION takes place in an old car garage and the stories that we’ve built begin with the materials found in the space and give back to it, reimagining the autobody shop many times over as place built by and for a history populated with someone or something that never existed.

WHY DO I EXPECT TO FIND HEAPS OF USED TRAIN TICKETS IN THE GARBAGE BINS OUTSIDE OF STATIONS?

Born out of our constant appraising are narratives that are absolute in nature. In the case of the train ticket, it is why so many are issued, used and promptly discarded––there is a strict understanding of where their use begins and ends. If viewed in religious terms, this can be seen as a consecration of objects and materials. Given an absolute purpose, they are removed from the sphere of unconditional use.

The stories in Material Profanation come from an interest in looking at this history through the lens of negativity––tracing their lineages and articulating where things could have turned out differently. At the core of this untangling of history is a desire to profanate materiality, uncovering their desecration by past humans and returning them to the free use of individuals.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE ... "RUNWAY": a Fashion Show

A fashion show will also take place in the space at 7 PM Saturday the 22nd of October.

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Too many clothes are being produced to satisfy a consumer who wants too many things. ‘RUNWAY’ aims to showcase a projection of the fashion industry as a whole: to share our point of view about everyday consumerism and ordinary occurrences through a distorted lens. In this age of interconnectivity, now more than ever we see an importance for designers to highlight this issue.

Understanding what our role plays in this whole. Defining and redefining what it means to create a ‘Fashion show’.

Presented by:

Mathis Hadji, Fynn Herlinghaus, Remi Vanderhaeghen, and Matti Paffen