An investigative design project with Swedish and international practitioners working within the fields of art, design, fashion, craft, architecture, neuroscience and feng shui. Commissioned by IASPIS / The Swedish Arts and Grants Committee, curated by Jelena Rundqvist, who also participated as a lecturer, workshop leader and artist.
Geppetto the woodcarver carved a puppet out of a block of wood and his love for it made it come alive. Does the fairytale of Pinocchio contain any truth about design, not only figuratively but also literally? How do love, rhythm, relationships with objects and space, the physical body, spiritual value and unconscious intelligence influence the practice of design? The concept of knowledge as it tends to be understood and used within academia can be limiting when applied to design and aesthetics. Wordless knowledge, intuitive processes and methods, the embedded knowledge within design practices, can be difficult to communicate in the current theoretical language. Increasing demands on theoretical analysis within the design field, together with hierarchies between theoretical and practical practice, might favour a design development accordingly to already existing intellectual concepts and definitions – thus missing out on important knowledge that could contribute to the understanding of design and how it affects us. When the conscious listens to the unconscious is a series of explorative sessions that bring together practitioners with different approaches to their work who share an interest in developing and expanding the understanding of design and aesthetics.
/Jelena Rundqvist
A first introduction was held at Iaspis, followed by a research session at Brunnsvik Konst, Brunnsvik Folk High School, Dalarna in November of 2012. A series of sessions open for participants followed in October of 2013, at IASPIS, Stockholm.
Documentation was collected in a fanzine produced by graphic designer Aron Kullander-Östling, in collaboration with editor Jelena Rundqvist, as a part of the 2013 sessions. It featured original paintings from Hrafnhildur Arnardottir aka Shoplifter’s workshop, texts by Andreas Nobel and Jelena Rundqvist.
Additional lecturers and workshop leaders:
Hrafnhildur Arnardottir aka Shoplifter, artist, (shoplifter.us). Josefin Arnell, fashion designer (SWE). Markus Bader (DEU) member of the group Raumlabor, which links architecture, art and urbanism, (www.raumlabor.net). Christina Bodin Danielsson, architect and researcher (SE). Bril Designers Collective (JPN) (bril.jp) (cotogotodesign.com). Gemma Draper, jewellery designer (ESP). Mònica Gaspar Mallol, curator and writer (CHE). Xiaoxin He (CHN/GBR) PhD in architecture and geography, consultant within architecture, landscape and environment, Fengshui specialist. Jessica Hemmings (GBR) textile writer, Professor, Head of Faculty of Visual Culture, National College of Art & Design, Dublin (www.jessicahemmings.com). Ivana Králíková, ceramic artist (CZE). Tor Lindstrand, architect and Associate Professor, School of Architecture (SWE). Andreas Nobel (SWE) interior architect, design researcher, founding member of art and design group Uglycute (www.uglycute.com). Yuka Oyama, artist (DEU). Katja Pettersson (SWE) designer, previously member and founder of the design group Front. Manages the design project Fifty Fifty Projects and senior lecturer at Beckmans School of Design. (www.katjapettersson.com) (www.thefiftyfiftyprojects.com) Julia Uddén, cognitive neuroscientist, Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics (SWE). Tessa Van Leeuwen (NLD), PhD, researcher focused on Synaesthesia, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany (www.mpg.de/institutes).
Website: theunconscious.se
Installation by Ivana Králíková, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Performance by Shoplifter / Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Let the body design, lecture and bow lathe demonstration by Andreas Nobel, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
The performative in and around the object, workshop with Katja Pettersson in collaboration with choreographer Lotta Melin, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist and (information is coming).
Performance introduction by Jelena Rundqvist, in collaboration with Jean-Louis Huhta and Ivana Králíková, Iaspis 2012. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Fanzine making with Aron Kullander-Östling, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Fanzine making with Aron Kullander-Östling, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Synaesthesia, lecture by Tessa Van Leeuwen, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Workshop with Josefin Arnell, Brunnsvik Konst 2012. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Logic? Magic? An introduction to Fengshui, workshop and lecture with Xiaoxin He, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Hidden Narratives, workshop with Katja Pettersson, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Lecture by Markus Bader, Raumlabor, Iaspis 2013. Photo Kristoffer Svenberg.
Dream Collaboration by Josefin Arnell and Ivana Králíková, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Presentation about nature and animism in Japan by Bril Designers Collective, Iaspis 2013. Photo Jelena Runqvist.
Presentation and workshops, Brunnsvik Konst 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
Presentation by Tor Lindstrand, Brunnsvik Konst 2013. Photo Jelena Rundqvist.
