Telling Tales

This exhibition explores the recent trend among European designers for unique or limited edition pieces that push the boundaries between art and design. It showcases furniture, lighting and ceramics, designed by a new generation of international designers, including Tord Boontje, Maarten Baas, Jurgen Bey and Studio Job, who are all inspired by the spirit of story-telling. Each tells a tale through their use of decorative devices, historical allusions or choice of materials, sharing common themes such as fantasy, parody and a concern with mortality.

The exhibition is in three sections:
The Forest Glade is inspired by fantasy and nature evoking the spirit of fairytales. The Enchanted Castle exaggerates and parodies historical design styles often associated with displays of status. Heaven and Hell is concerned with themes of mortality and the afterlife.

When i first stepped foot in the exhibition I was overwhelmed, the place seemed so small but there was so much going on round me and it was packed with so many beautiful objects, i didn't know where to start and what to put my eye on first. If i was the only person in that place i think i would of been a bit scared, so in a way I'm glad there were little school children running about allover the place.

'Bathboat'

Wieki Somers

The 'Bathboat' is like a small boat turned inside out, designed to keep water in rather than keep it out. Wieki Somers wanted to make the connection between floating on the water and bathing in the water because they evoke many similar feelings and elements.

One of the reasons i absolutely love this pice, is purely because i would love to have bathboat in my house.

'Lathe Chair VIII'

Sebastian Brajkovic

The 'Lathe Chair' series was conceived by rotating 19th-century chair shapes around a central axis to stretch them. The finished chairs were cast in bronze, like sculpture, but remain functional as furniture. The upholstery was digitally designed. The result is a marriage of tradition and modernity.

'Damned.MGX' chandelier

Luc Merx

The tumbling bodies that make up this chandelier were inspired by Peter Paul Rubens's depiction of the Fall of the Damned at the moment of God's last judgement. In western art the human body is often a metaphor for spiritual attributes. By using the body in a work of design, Merx seems implicitly to equate the value of design and art.