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Sweet Nature. Regeneration Propagation Station. 2020

Curated by Dale Hardiman & Tom Skeehan as Friends & Associates. March 2020

This exhibition is a matter of Life & Death. Life & Death presented designed outcomes by creative practitioners looking at both the life of an object: functionality, utility, cultural or social intent, speculation or experimentation – whilst in parallel putting equal emphasis on the death of the object: what happens to the object once it’s reached it’s end of life? 

Contributors included: ACV Studio, Alexi Freeman, Ash Furniture and Morgan Doty Design, BMDO, Breathe Architecture, Charlie White, Convolo Design, Cordon Salon, Damien Wright, Flack Studio, James Lemon, Jonathan Ben-Tovim, Richardson.Wait, Jesse Bennett Studio and Kristoffer Paulsen, Liane Rossler, Lucy Jenkins, Makiko Ryujin, March Studio, Mark Richardson, Killing Matt Woods and Mycelium Studios, Copper and & Projects, Olive Gill-Hille, Dr Areli Avendano Franco, Dr Judith Glover, Dr Liam Fennessy, Dr Simon Lockrey and Jaclyn Pokrovsky, Seaweed Appreciation Society International, Long Prawn, Studio Edwards, Thomas Coward, and Whiting Architects.

Regeneration Propagation Station

Part of the ongoing Sweet Nature series, these ceramic works are created in a direct process from earth to form, expressing the natural qualities of the material. The simplicity and restraint of design, pared back to the simplest form in production and aesthetics is combined with purpose and function to create a multifunctional and beneficial work designed to nurture nature.

Life

This Regeneration/Propagation Station is designed to have a beneficial and useful life and provide a positive contribution in its use, its life and its afterlife.

Designed to nurture nature, this work encourages a connection to biophilia, connecting people to the natural world, and fostering a connection to care.

Having plants around makes us feel better, along with all the practical contributions, bringing beauty, good health and encouraging biodiversity. Planting and growing is an immediate and positive solution to the climate emergency.

There is a sense of potential and possibility from the empty forms, allowing the user to connect and seek out a use in their own way.

This work is designed to have a long and well lived life.

Death

There is no waste in nature. After life, there is death & then rebirth. Everything breaks down and becomes transformed to contribute to new life. The process of making these ceramics follows these principles. Created from the earth in a direct process, they are shaped into forms to nurture nature & sustain and celebrate plant life.

Death is a conversion or transformation of matter. The death of this work was considered at its birth, so it can evolve to be never-endingly-useful, rather than becoming waste.

The Regeneration/Propagation Station can be crushed and recreated/reformed to make new forms to support life. It is designed to last. It is resilient and multifunctional but can become part of new life upon death.

NGV Melbourne Design Week 2020 program

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