Background of the project:
Back to 2013, I took part of “Design explore” a residency progrma organised by the British Council,in Marrakech (Mo)A program that aims to give young Moroccan designers a chance to develop their skills and knowledge of contemporary product design. This programme – comprising a two week development residency and a design skills open day – has offer a chance to the participants to develop their own creative thinking and ideas in design. Participants from all across Morocco-wide,from a range of backgrounds including art, architecture and craftmakers. An during this residency I have forged my idea about the kind of desing that I want to work on and also started to shape the main pillars of the Anonynous objects series.
During the residency, working with the wool craftman (photo credit:Simon Mills,2013)
The wool making (photo credit:Simon Mills,2013)
My idea about design was to create contradictory objects, that are made of an alliance of differents not usual material. So within a group of artist we have chosen the wool as material to create functional objects for dining table.
making of the bread basket. (photo credit:Simon Mills,2013)
Starting from this point, I have begun to search for a visual and material identity of the objects that I want to develop,the object immersed in a vision of design, which is democratic, contradictory,eclectic, empathetic and reflecting our era. The research and the development stage during the two weeks residency and 2 month mentoring with designers and tutors including: Karen Richmond (UK)-Committee (UK)-Fabien Cappello (FR)-Studio Silo (UK)-Custhom (UK)-Roger Arquer (SP)-Thorsten Van Elten(UK)-Younes Duret (MO)-Sanae Alami, SAAA Communications (MO)-Joseph Ouchen (MO), have allowed to each of the participants has developed his own project.
Development of the series:
Artistic approach:
Being deeply concerned by the impact of the abstraction on the dailylife , and how the daily life activities sneak behind numbers and codes, I wanted to touch this aspect by creating “functional” objects that are more or less usuel and merged in a vision that abstracts all the little details of each discipline in order to have one result that is the need for creativity and the need to do things differently. That said the need and the way of seing objects, can change a whole system of life, the necessity of the need and the abstraction of vision grow the object to be usual whatever its form (tiredness+ deserted road + stone = stone becomes a seat) a typical example of what man can conceive in the moment of a physical need or more a spiritual requirement too. Anonymous objects is a series of objects that combines sculpture and object design. Through this work I treat several materials as melted aluminum, wood, asphalt, concrete…to have a kind of spontaneous result in this way the object becomes a field of contradiction between the functionality and the aesthetic. With these objects the public becomes user, the object of art is no more “sacred” it is a natural way to have a kind of situation with the public by extension the user that interferes with work through features that can be designed by him for each piece.
Work process:
The first conception was a table made of melted aluminum and wood and glass, I wanted to gather different material and also to not give to the object an isomorphe sides, so the public has to turn around in order to capture the whole object.
sketch Anonymous objects#1, 2013 (table)
Collage Anonymous objects#1, 2013 (table)
Anonymous objects#1, 2013 (table) 40x40x90 cm
As the first has been shaped, I have started to develop more objects and to play with materials Starting from the drawings, that are more abstract and that show blurred ideas of the forms, the series has begun to grow.
Collage Anonymous objects,2013 (chair)
Sketch Anonymous objects,2013 (table)
Anonnymous objects#2,2013 (glass mount)
Anonymous objects#3,2013 (trivet)
After one year of the production of some objects, I attended the sitautuion that I wanted to create with the public through these pieces which was the interaction. People started to interact with the pieces, and everyone has something to say about a new eventuality of use. So I started to name the object of the person who has suggested it.
Anonymous object#Guissepe,2014 (table accessory)
Anonymous objects#jack,2014 (ashtray)
Anonymous objects#jack,2014 (ashtray)
Anonymous objects#Karim,2014
Sketch Anonymous objects#Patrick,2014 (table)
Anonymous objects#Patrick,2014 as installed in Riad KA,Marrakech (MO)
Anonymous objects#Sophia,2015 (Bookend)
Ongoing
The project since 2013 has sought through interaction a way to develop itself in order to fit with my vision of object design. Democratic: each piece has more than one side of seeing it Contradictory: between artwork and object design Eclectic: gathers different materials Empathetic: public interacts with the objects,everyone can be a designer Reflecting our era: the object has a multi layered way of interpretation,complex and heavy all these characteristics define the most our era.
Anonymous objects#Zahra,2014 (table detail)
Anonymous objects#Zahra,2014 (table)
Anonymous objects#0101,2015 (trivet)
Anonymous objects#Jack,2015 (ashtray)
Anonymous objects#Jack,2015
Anonymous objects#Jack,2015
Anonymous objects#Leonardo,2015 (plateau)
Gallerys and concept stores
Some pieces of the series are shown at :
LAS CHICAS, Tangier 52, Rue Kacem Guenoun/Porte de la Kasbah +212 (0) 539 37 45 10 laschicasdetanger@gmail.com
Macaal, Marrakech Al Maaden, Sidi Youssef Ben Ali40000 Marrakech, Maroc +212 6 76 92 44 92 info@macaal.org