Unless You Remove

Last Tuesday I went to the Graduation Show of the Design Academy during Dutch Design Week. Always good to go there, very inspiring. It's great having taught there at the then-called master Man and Humanity, and I might teach there again.
From all the projects I've seen many were good, some were brilliant, some were unnecessary and some keep popping up in my mind. Here's one of the stars.
Luis Gomez Barquin. He graduated from the master Social Design. His project Unless You Remove is poetical, a sign of the times as well as a proof of the past.
Ancient architecture was purely for protection. Against weather, animals or human enemies. It was done by removing soil or excavating rock. Ancient garments were also made by removing. A fleece from a sheep, a bark from a tree. These were remade. All this needed focus and dedication.
Today's dangers and lifestyle are more complex, so products as well as garments are way beyond the ancient pieces. But we lost the skill of removal. We constantly add. That's also metaphoric and reflects our lives which are reigned by consumerism, speed and distraction.
But we can learn, and remove. Focus again, reflect, commit.
That's why Luis designed items that will become ours by removing elements. Objects that ask for an action, he calls them.
I fell in love with the idea, for it's part of the questions we have to ask ourselves: what do we really need, what can go? I fell in love with the objects as well.

the blanket is too thick to wrap yourself comfortably unless....

the chair is uncomfortable to sit on unless..........