Designer Shai Akram on the emerging makers in Future Edit
Shai Akram takes us through some of her Future Edit favourites
Shai Akram, Future Edit selector, founder and design director, Studio Alt Shift, takes us through what the 44 selected makers have brought to the exhibition.
From disrupting the traditional creative processes to reminding us about the joy of objects, see what she discovered below.
The joy of objects
Universally we have been in a period of being immersed in solving very pragmatic problems, such as childcare and food delivery. Throughout the selection process, I was reminded of how objects can really lift the mood and bring joy in difficult times.
Jeanne Izard’s work is the perfect example, making a series of oversized soft Useless Tools her objects question the ways we overlook and take tools for granted until they stop functioning properly. The tongue in cheek sculptures using found fabrics in various shades, patterns and textures bring a sense of humour to the project.
Drill from the Useless Tools series by Jeanne Izard. Second-hand fabrics, mixed media. £300 Sheers from the Useless Tools series by Jeanne Izard. Second-hand fabrics, mixed media. £300
Not just the outcome, but the process
There was a real exuberance and joy of the making process in so many of the projects we received from the applicants.
I wonder if it’s because we don’t have access to the usual places where we can touch objects and see materials, that this has become even more pertinent in the graduate’s creative practice. Their work is an opportunity and safe place to play.
I personally felt a real draw to projects that dealt with making in a playful and surprising way, such as Jamie Baldrick’s Fiona beaded jumper and her maximalist approach to colour.
Disrupting the norm
I particularly enjoyed seeing works that took an existing making process and either amplified it for surprising outcomes or introduced a disruption that reframed objects we are so used to seeing.
Working with glass and steel, Bethany Walker’s piece is driven by deciphering how the two materials behave and react with one another. There is an element of planning in the creative process, but the rest is down to chance.
Observing the glass melting and reacting to the metal, Bethany intervenes at a precise point to crash-cool the kiln resulting in the freezing of an ephemeral moment.
The Liminal Space by Bethany Walker. Glass and metal. £1250
Think big
Lastly, I noticed a lovely sense of optimism and ambition with a number of larger scale installation submissions. I particularly enjoyed this elastic reading of the role of the object within a space - rather than an item for individual sale.
In particular we had quite a few conversations about objects that looked as though they were based on functional typologies but that didn't quite seem like they should be worn or put to work.
Bill Gowan’s Appropriation is one such work. Whilst researching colour field painting pioneer Mark Rothko Gowan discovered that his art had been used by the US government during the Cold War. The result is an ambitious work that uses colour field inspired palette on 20 large (between 80 and 89 cm high) ceramic torpedo-shaped vessels.
Appropriation by Bill Gowan. £7900 Detail of Appropriation by Bill Gowan. £7900
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