Break to Make / Daniel Arsham x nendo
A collaborative project with New York-based artist Daniel Arsham with the concept of “nendo makes. Daniel breaks. ”After nendo creates objects with no intended use, Daniel produces new functions by breaking them. From a bathtub-like form, a loveseat emerged; from a long and narrow block, a bench or a stool; from a tall, square form, a console table was revealed. The pieces are colored in pastel tones, typical of Daniel’s work.
The theme that has long dominated Daniel’s practice, “Fictional Archeology,” refers to the partial breaking of everyday things to transform them into “excavated” artifacts. In traditional Japanese craft, on the other hand, the idea of “creating to be broken” is honored, as displayed in the easily dismountable joinery of wood construction or in barrels made of just wooden planks and held together by a hoop.
This theme of “reverse-engineering from breaking” is often explored in nendo’s work as well.
An artist who creates by breaking, and a designer who creates things to be broken. An artist who expresses present objects as past artifacts, and a designer who makes present objects that anticipate the future. The collaboration may be seen as an overlay of these two contrary perspectives.
