15 September - 17 November 2019
During London Design Festival 2019 Matter of Stuff launched A Second Life exhibition at sketch London, the iconic artist-conceived food and drinks destination in London’s Mayfair.
Commissioning one architecture and three design studios, Matter of Stuff presented an array of experimental new works made from a single raw material. In preparation for the exhibition, PiM.Studio, Brodie Neill, Matteo Fogale and Emma Archer, and Studio Furthermore have transformed 5,000 cylindrical Burbridge pine dowels provided by Matter of Stuff to make a resolute and ongoing statement about the infinite possibilities of sustainable design, upcycling and waste avoidance.
The dowels measuring 2,400mm in length with a 15mm diameter were originally used by Matter of Stuff in 2018 for a pop-up gallery it opened in Kings Cross. Hand-punched and threaded with string, each dowel was hung individually from a ceiling mesh to create a floating vertical wall that divided up space while keeping each ‘room’ relational to the other. In place of recycling the material through mulching, Matter of Stuff commissioned four designers to reinterpret, explore and experiment with the material to create new sculptures while maintaining some of the structural integrity of the original.
“By injecting new life into waste material to create varied and extraordinary sculptures for an iconic London venue, we want to make a statement that goes beyond the importance of sustainable design practices,” says Matter of Stuff cofounder, Simona Auteri.
“Through four different iterations of reuse, we seek to redefine waste as a legitimate raw material with enormous potential for creative renewal.”
Simona Auteri & Sofia Steffenoni
co-founders of Matter of Stuff
