2017
This work generates questions about the changing meaning of craftsmanship. Nowadays, most part of the creation of products has been digitalized and automated. The human hand slowly disappears from this process and with that the improvising qualities of the creative mind. This has a great impact on the experimental elements of the design making process. People have their own way of creating, they don’t have an explicit coded outcome, they’re not completely predictable. They are able to feel the material and act on that. There is a curiosity to unfold the unknown.
I made machines that involve a production process that relates to the relationship between play and work. The user becomes a playing creator in which his body acts as a production engine. Through the spatial movements of the human body, the production process is performed differently every time, which results is a range of diverse outcomes. By using hand, arms and legs dynamics change. The improvisation and creativity of the maker has an impact on the output produced by the machine. The playful and surprising qualities of human beings are therefore a key aspect in my work. The user is invited to explore all the possibilities of the machines. The collection consists of three different machines. In each machine the body is triggers to move in a different way. Because of this, the labour movements become a kind of repetetive dance.
The tactile and colourful outcomes of the machine symbolize the playfulness and joy that are experienced during the making process. I think we should celebrate the moment of creating and embrace the unexpected outcomes that are characteristic for the human hand.
Video
Performance | Carlijn Veurink
Camera | Sander Hagelaar