Super Tactility Soft Technology

Abstract

We live in a phygital age, where physical materials and digital code are becoming increasingly intertwined. How do designers deal with this? The exhibition Super Tactility Soft Technology that Anneleen Swillen co-curated with Ariane Heystraeten at museum Texture, Kortrijk, brought together a selection of young designers from a variety of fields, including textile design, graphic design, jewellery design, ceramics, digital design, product design and architecture. They were part of ‘We Are The Next Generation’, the pick of the bunch from Belgian design schools in recent years. In their work, these designers marry digital technologies with traditional crafts, always with great sensitivity to the materials they work with, whether this is wool, leather or pixels. They either surf along at the pace and ‘all-at-onceness’ inherent in a global world or consciously opt to slow down and pay heed in response to a rushed society. In doing so, they open the gaze to a more sustainable and viable future. The exhibition was built around seven themes that form a common thread throughout the designers’ work. Striking prints, immersive fabrics, playful installations and quiet compositions come together to form a diverse whole. As such, this exhibition explored where the digital and physical dimensions merge within contemporary design practices, where boundaries between disciplines become fluid and where materials, in all their forms, show their individuality.

Participating artists and designers: Andonni Tsolingkas, Kuyckxmeers (Anouck Kuyckx and Thomas Meers), Atelier U+E (Ulrike Pittomvils and Elise Vanden Broecke), Benjamin Mengistu Navet, Jade Houben, Joanna Reuse and Magalie Delbeke, Laura Leynen, Lies Fauconnier, Michaela Armani, Nele Demeulemeester, Sam Pladet, Thomas Renwart, Tom Delboo, Yanis Berrewaerts.

Curation: Anneleen Swillen and Ariane Heystraeten Scenography: Lauren Dierickx (LDSRa) Graphic design: Bureau BoschBerg