Body Language by Dutch Invertuals

Installation view of “Body Language” by Dutch Invertuals at Spazio O’ in Milan.

Noman at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Untitled by NOMAN. “For ages, people have envisioned the future as bleak and virtual. What they seem to forget is that we desire tactility. It is through physical objects that we forge our identity.”

Arnout Meijer at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Daphna Laurens at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Left: Light Holograms by Arnout Meije. “The world we are going to, will be more liquid and hybrid. Light will be more affordable and easily accessible. A moment will come where we can no longer speak of a source of light, but of a material that can be used to build and shape”. Right: ‘Inutile’ by Daphna Laurens. “When in a distant future windows will clean themselves and we no longer need wipers, the object will become orphaned: a deserted form that no longer has a purpose. It is up to the designer to adopt these orphaned forms and find new purposes for them as objects.”

Dienke Dekker at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Germans Ermics at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Left: ‘Intersect’ by Dienke Dekker. “When our life becomes increasingly digital, we will need less physical objects. The objects we possess will have more value to us. It is part of the human condition to want to explore our senses, and we look for that in our surroundings”. Right: ‘Shaping Colour’ by Germans Ermičs. “Instead of finishing a product by painting it, I started from colour. By initiating a dialogue between shape and colour, I aim to unhinge the traditional roles in what defines a product.”

Jetske Visser + Michiel Martens at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Victoria Ledig at Dutch Invertuals | #Mantrace2015 by Yellowtrace

Left: ‘HUE’ by Jetske Visser + Michiel Martens. “HUE shows a range of objects combining multiple slender strips of different materials. The work investigates refracting, reflecting, light, color and the applicability of a phosphor based light-source. The products capture light and glow. By putting the objects in motion, the different strips appear to melt into a liquid whole.” Right: ‘Liquid Mirror’ by Victoria Ledig. “Much like staring into water, Liquid Mirror presents the onlooker with an interactive perception of the self. Imbued with synthetic resin and colour, the collections of mirrors gain materiality and turns a flat and supposedly neutral reflection into a playful and tangible portrait.”

101,86° by Thomas Vailly & Laura Lynn Jansen. “Puzzling and dazzling, 101,86° offers a new way to experience light. Treated with contemporary methods, the material possesses crystalline qualities that one normally only finds in nature, in the highlands of Iceland. The result is a product of wonder with multi layered colours and a dynamic effect on light.”

Design collective Dutch Invertuals took part in Milan during Salone for the 5th time this year. Coming from different backgrounds and areas of training, but united by their desire to extend the boundaries of their work into a more conceptual realm, the designers set up an exhibition at Milan’s Spazio O’ under the curatorship of the group’s founder, Wendy Plomp. With an enigmatic title, “Body Language”, designers explored the effect of technology on our lives and how it dematerialises and deconstructs objects, making them lose the value and physical characteristics they once had.

Within the context of the future way of life, Dutch Invertuals explored the aesthetics and complexities of an increasingly virtual world. Technology is becoming invisible. The virtual world is gaining ground in the understanding of who we are. While physical objects lose function, forms are freed, orphaned and adopted. What is left are merely bodies reflecting our identities.

All this requires a renegotiation of the space around us and it’s effects on being human. Generations to come will refer to the past as primitive. “Body Language” explored all that reflects, moves, shines and glows. Crafting materials with character rather than function. Flirting with new aesthetics and usabilities.

Initiator and curator, Wendy Plomp, explains that the mission of Dutch Invertuals is to “show and challenge the value of knowledge and beauty.”

Participating designers: Aliki van der Kruijs, Alissa + Nienke, Arnout Meijer, Daphna Laurens, Dienke Dekker, Edhv, Germans Ermičs, Jetske Visser & Michiel Martens, Nina van Bart, NOMAN, Philipp Weber, Thomas Vailly & Laura Lynn Jansen, Tijmen Smeulders, Victoria Ledig.