Critical Reflection -
The core idea of my Synthesis and resolution project has been how I can make the standard become special. To me the industrial materials that facilitate modern living are overlooked and to me are special, they’re worth considering not only in their intended uses but in the context of craft and specifically furniture. In this project I’ve explored what makes these materials and objects so special to me, but also began to better understand how people define the standard and the special.
Without one simple piece of, what i’d consider special, design this project would probably look entirely different. The insert nuts used through-out this project have allowed me to move relatively freely through materials and unlocks for me the potential for so many more objects. I consider the blind hex drive inserts and accompanying countersunk bolts to be at the heart of my conversation around what we should consider standard and special.
To begin with, this project was mostly motivated by a general belief that if more people had an appreciation for the material world and objects which surround them the negative effects of the technological revolution would be reduced. This belief was shaped by the research of the current revolution but also the industrial revolution and the adversaries of it at the time. The likes of Ruskin and Morris have shaped my academic approach to this project throughout but it was a conversation with my peers which has allowed me to narrow my focus and create a body of work which is resolved onto the themes of the standard and special. The scope of the project can widen again as the areas of research I’ve opened up not only include William Morris but also May Morris and many of their contemporaries.
I’ve touched on it in the previous sentence but the scope of the conversation surrounding the standard and special can become a guiding philosophy for how I design and look at the world but will also help me filter through the work of past designers and makers who approached materials in a unique way. The next stages of this project are exciting to contemplate but I think it has to remain grounded in making and speaking with peers. Without both of these my gauge on how people understand my object and the world around them is lost. I hope to attract attention and provoke reaction to my work so that I can continue to develop my practice.
Above - Context Video [1.40]
Below - Final Collection Images
