Exhibition in Israel brings together sustainable “contemporary cavemen” (and designers).
Post Fossil, a current exhibition at the Design Museum in Holon, Israel, asks the question: how to create in a post-fossil-fueled world?
As the exhibition description states, “Time has come for extreme change. Society is ready to break away from last century for good. To break with creative conventions, theoretic rules and stigmas that now are questioned, challenged and broken…A new generation of designers retrace their roots, refine their earth and research their history, sometimes going back to the beginning of time…Like contemporary cavemen, they reinvent shelter, redesign tools and manmade machines, and conceptualize archaic rituals for a more modest, content and contained lifestyle.”
One such “contemporary caveman” is Dutch visual artist Jan Eric Visser, who has been transforming his household garbage into artwork for over 20 years. One of his sculptures, Form Follows Garbage, is participating in the Post Fossil exhibition and the artist is speaking this evening at the Design Museum in Holon about his use of an innovative sustainable material, Aquadyne.
Visser began experimenting with Aquadyne – a material normally reserved for drainage, green roofing, and vertical farming – in 2008. Though seemingly a low-tech material, Aquadyne is unique since it is 100% made from end of life recycled materials and combines various types of polymers that do not then need to be separated before recycling. The production of Aquadyne is therefore low energy as well.
In order to create his Aquadyne sculpture (in the photo above), Visser collected ‘garbage’ materials near a factory in Yorkshire, including a broken lawn mower, fishing crate, hubcaps, rusty barbecues, and metal strips. He then assembled these pieces together and covered them with Aquadyne noodles.
Visser refers to his design approach as a principle called ‘Form Follows Garbage’ (a play on the familiar design principle of ‘Form Follows Function’). Literally shaping his work around garbage, he moves from waste to creation instead of from creation to waste (and wastefulness).
:: Design Museum in Holon
:: Jan Eric Visser
Read more about sustainable art exhibitions in Israel:
Coal-Clad Celebrities Take Part in Greenpeace Israel Exhibition
White Trash, An Ecological Group Exhibition
Bank Hapoalim Presents an Exhibition of 22 Futuristic Green Houses and 2 Green Mortgages
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
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