Reflections of Home
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All gender bathroom, Low sensory / relaxedWhat does the idea of ‘home’ mean to you?
A multidisciplinary cohort of Australian and international creatives interrogate this question, answering with objects, lighting, photography, and video. The collection of works ranges from functional to sculptural, literal to metaphoric, and act as tokens for audiences to question or reflect on their notion of ‘home’. Showcased in the Coco Flip gallery space, Reflections Of Home is a celebration of the diversity of thought and culture found within the creative community. Although the exhibitors are separated by continents and borders, heritage and culture, they can use art and design as a form of expression to share ideas and communicate their unique perspectives.
Reflections Of Home is made possible through the support of Coco Flip and CERES Fairwood.
Participants
Alice Guidi is a designer and researcher based between Milan and Stockholm. Her practice often questions digital and physical spaces, exploring future scenarios while forecasting material narratives. Her approach is research-based and digs into current trends, emerging needs and cultural shifts shaping our material world. She was educated in Art and Design at Design Academy Eindhoven and Gerrit Rietveld Academie, has a previous background in conservation science from Bologna University, and she completed a traineeship in ceramics crafts at Saga University.
Amgs is a design studio on textile research created by Colombian designer Ana María Gómez in 2015. She makes pieces that go from wearable items to eclectic functional furniture, often as a result of collaborations. In recent years Ana María has been experimenting in different ways with textiles based on an awareness of different cultural and social worlds. The relation between textile, body and space is an important issue for Ana María, and feeds into the special interest she has in theatre and performance.
Bel Williams is a furniture and object designer from Aotearoa New Zealand, based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). Her work grounds itself in the mindful interplay of design fundamentals. Each piece emerges as a harmonious synthesis of form and material, where the inherent qualities of each element are thoughtfully considered and playfully manipulated. In 2022, Bel established her eponymous studio practice, an ongoing conversation through the lens of balance, weight and softness.
Bolaji Teniola is an interdisciplinary designer blending his furniture and industrial design knowledge to develop pieces that occupy known genres or something new entirely. In search of pragmatic solutions, Teniola finds joy in allowing the process to dictate the result. Utilising an investigative approach to traverse various mediums, a deep curiosity for materiality and the manufacturing process sits at the centre of Teniola’s practice. With an Associate Degree in Furniture Design and a Bachelor of Industrial Design from RMIT University, Teniola also draws on his experience working for design studios locally and abroad.
Chris Kabel combines a fascination for materials and natural phenomena with a sensitive and analytical approach to design objects, furniture and architectural elements. Sensitivity to context and finding relevant design answers prevail trends: “I like to be smart more than stylish”. One way or another, aesthetics always follow suit in an intuitive and poetic way. Chris Kabel graduated in 2001 from the Design Academy Eindhoven. He lives and works in Rotterdam.
DnJ Paper is a collaborative research project and label situated in Melbourne, Australia, and is led by designers Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran and Jake Nakashima-Edwards. They employ a range of techniques, both traditional and nontraditional, to create paper clothing, accessories, and objects. They aim to address pressing social, aesthetic, and conceptual questions related to fashion and textiles design, and start each project with deep research. They use handmade recycled rag paper, produced in our studio, as well as handmade Japanese paper.
Jorge Elósegui Astrain founded Estudio Primo in 2013. He works mainly as a graphic designer and art director although he has also developed numerous projects related to product and space design. Side projects are also important to him as a way of exploring ideas and escaping out of the inevitable routine of everyday life to follow new creative paths. He doesn’t like specialisation and prefers to keep an open mind and try different things to stay motivated and excited as a designer
Jessie Von Curry confronts beliefs on the nature and pace of co-evolutionary futures. Working across costume, performance and sculpture, Curry explores themes of materiality, consumption, embodiment, and ecology. Her creative process centres on material experimentation and interdisciplinary research, which inform designs and narratives that examine humanity’s intimate and systemic relationship to its environment. She currently works between London, UK and Portland, Oregon.
Amsterdam-based Julina Vanille Bezold is an ecofeminist body designer, artistic researcher and socially engaged multidisciplinary artist and educator. Bezold has been educated in fashion and body design, holds an MA in socio-political design & fine arts (Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam) and is currently completing her second MA at iMAE in the Netherlands. In her work, she explores the multitudes of conflict transformation and peace-building through implementing a pedagogy of ecology, reciprocity and care.
Liz Zotti is a contemporary artist-maker practising in Melbourne. Drawing from her lived experiences, she explores the intersection of tradition and innovation in her work, reflecting a fusion of contemporary expression and timeless aesthetics. Liz holds an Associate Degree in Furniture Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Film & Digital Media, which informs her approach to design. Her pieces are considered and explorative, and delve into the themes of identity and memory while also exploring form and function.
An object designer with a passion for creating narrative designs that explore unique craft techniques, technology and materials, Josy’s practice is an investigation to find meaning in objects beyond their function and aesthetic. Josy aspires to design objects that question the mundane and reflect on our relationship with nature, culture and beliefs. A strong believer in creating a material culture that utilises traditional knowledge to create sustainable and emotionally durable products.
A Maldivian-Australian artist and designer in London, Rooya completed her BA in Industrial Design from RMIT in 2012, focussing on bioplastics and waste reuse. In 2014, she relocated to London to pursue fashion. Upon completion of her MA at the Royal College of Art in 2022, she revisited bioplastics and transitioned to metal for sculptures. With a love for materials and collaboration, she intuitively expresses her work through waste materials that are multi-functional, often juxtaposing different mediums. Primarily exploring her identity, Rooya reflects on migration, integration, mental health and cultural preservation of Maldives, in the face of rising sea levels.
Sandra Githinji is a Kenyan interdisciplinary designer, curator and educator based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). She leads the award-winning practice Sandra Githinji Studio that spans the intersections of cultural histories, pedagogy, activism, and the built form with a focus on cultural expressions that centre an African perspective, both on the continent and diasporic. The studio works across scales and typologies, including hospitality, residential, retail, exhibition, object design and brand collaborations.
Sean Brickhill is a designer-maker based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). Drawing inspiration from architecture, visual art and sculpture, Sean aims to bring a fresh take on furniture design and functional art. He believes in form before function but knows not to neglect the importance function carries in design. He aims to create works that provide traditional function in enterprising and aesthetically engaging ways.
Soft-geometry, founded by Indian designers Utharaa Zacharias and Palaash Chaudhary, is a collaborative studio practice based in San Francisco, USA. Describing their work as a study of softness, the studio creates collectible furniture, lighting, and objects that combine softness with intuitive hand-building, inspired by Indian craft traditions.
Established in 2017, Studio Thomas Lentini specialises in the design and craft of bespoke furniture. Each piece is a direct and meaningful response to its intended space or end user. Thomas completed a Diploma in Furniture Design & Technology in 2011, followed by the Associate Degree of Furniture Design in 2012 at RMIT. In October 2022, Thomas was invited by Tony Elwood AM to participate as a designer in Melbourne Now 2023.
Born in Tokyo, 1980, Wataru Kumano is a product designer and founder of Studio Kumano established in 2011. Studio Kumano is a multidisciplinary studio with projects spanning interior design, furniture design, product design, and international project management. Kumano completed a BA in Furniture Design at Lahti Polytechnic in 2004 and postgraduate studies at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, Aalto University, in 2008. In 2008, Kumano moved back to Japan to design for Jasper Morrison in Morrison’s Tokyo Studio.
Zain Al Khalifa, born in 1991, was raised in her home island of Bahrain and is currently based in Marseille, France. She is an early career artist who started her practice in 2022. She creates romantic-ish documentary portraiture of either people or places. Her style shows up most strongly, but not limited to, prints as she expresses a more playful, humorous, and experimental approach reworking images in the darkroom.
Dates
Tickets
Venue
Access
All gender bathroom, Low sensory / relaxedWhat does the idea of ‘home’ mean to you?
A multidisciplinary cohort of Australian and international creatives interrogate this question, answering with objects, lighting, photography, and video. The collection of works ranges from functional to sculptural, literal to metaphoric, and act as tokens for audiences to question or reflect on their notion of ‘home’. Showcased in the Coco Flip gallery space, Reflections Of Home is a celebration of the diversity of thought and culture found within the creative community. Although the exhibitors are separated by continents and borders, heritage and culture, they can use art and design as a form of expression to share ideas and communicate their unique perspectives.
Reflections Of Home is made possible through the support of Coco Flip and CERES Fairwood.
Participants
Alice Guidi is a designer and researcher based between Milan and Stockholm. Her practice often questions digital and physical spaces, exploring future scenarios while forecasting material narratives. Her approach is research-based and digs into current trends, emerging needs and cultural shifts shaping our material world. She was educated in Art and Design at Design Academy Eindhoven and Gerrit Rietveld Academie, has a previous background in conservation science from Bologna University, and she completed a traineeship in ceramics crafts at Saga University.
Amgs is a design studio on textile research created by Colombian designer Ana María Gómez in 2015. She makes pieces that go from wearable items to eclectic functional furniture, often as a result of collaborations. In recent years Ana María has been experimenting in different ways with textiles based on an awareness of different cultural and social worlds. The relation between textile, body and space is an important issue for Ana María, and feeds into the special interest she has in theatre and performance.
Bel Williams is a furniture and object designer from Aotearoa New Zealand, based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). Her work grounds itself in the mindful interplay of design fundamentals. Each piece emerges as a harmonious synthesis of form and material, where the inherent qualities of each element are thoughtfully considered and playfully manipulated. In 2022, Bel established her eponymous studio practice, an ongoing conversation through the lens of balance, weight and softness.
Bolaji Teniola is an interdisciplinary designer blending his furniture and industrial design knowledge to develop pieces that occupy known genres or something new entirely. In search of pragmatic solutions, Teniola finds joy in allowing the process to dictate the result. Utilising an investigative approach to traverse various mediums, a deep curiosity for materiality and the manufacturing process sits at the centre of Teniola’s practice. With an Associate Degree in Furniture Design and a Bachelor of Industrial Design from RMIT University, Teniola also draws on his experience working for design studios locally and abroad.
Chris Kabel combines a fascination for materials and natural phenomena with a sensitive and analytical approach to design objects, furniture and architectural elements. Sensitivity to context and finding relevant design answers prevail trends: “I like to be smart more than stylish”. One way or another, aesthetics always follow suit in an intuitive and poetic way. Chris Kabel graduated in 2001 from the Design Academy Eindhoven. He lives and works in Rotterdam.
DnJ Paper is a collaborative research project and label situated in Melbourne, Australia, and is led by designers Daphne Mohajer va Pesaran and Jake Nakashima-Edwards. They employ a range of techniques, both traditional and nontraditional, to create paper clothing, accessories, and objects. They aim to address pressing social, aesthetic, and conceptual questions related to fashion and textiles design, and start each project with deep research. They use handmade recycled rag paper, produced in our studio, as well as handmade Japanese paper.
Jorge Elósegui Astrain founded Estudio Primo in 2013. He works mainly as a graphic designer and art director although he has also developed numerous projects related to product and space design. Side projects are also important to him as a way of exploring ideas and escaping out of the inevitable routine of everyday life to follow new creative paths. He doesn’t like specialisation and prefers to keep an open mind and try different things to stay motivated and excited as a designer
Jessie Von Curry confronts beliefs on the nature and pace of co-evolutionary futures. Working across costume, performance and sculpture, Curry explores themes of materiality, consumption, embodiment, and ecology. Her creative process centres on material experimentation and interdisciplinary research, which inform designs and narratives that examine humanity’s intimate and systemic relationship to its environment. She currently works between London, UK and Portland, Oregon.
Amsterdam-based Julina Vanille Bezold is an ecofeminist body designer, artistic researcher and socially engaged multidisciplinary artist and educator. Bezold has been educated in fashion and body design, holds an MA in socio-political design & fine arts (Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam) and is currently completing her second MA at iMAE in the Netherlands. In her work, she explores the multitudes of conflict transformation and peace-building through implementing a pedagogy of ecology, reciprocity and care.
Liz Zotti is a contemporary artist-maker practising in Melbourne. Drawing from her lived experiences, she explores the intersection of tradition and innovation in her work, reflecting a fusion of contemporary expression and timeless aesthetics. Liz holds an Associate Degree in Furniture Design and a Bachelor’s degree in Film & Digital Media, which informs her approach to design. Her pieces are considered and explorative, and delve into the themes of identity and memory while also exploring form and function.
An object designer with a passion for creating narrative designs that explore unique craft techniques, technology and materials, Josy’s practice is an investigation to find meaning in objects beyond their function and aesthetic. Josy aspires to design objects that question the mundane and reflect on our relationship with nature, culture and beliefs. A strong believer in creating a material culture that utilises traditional knowledge to create sustainable and emotionally durable products.
A Maldivian-Australian artist and designer in London, Rooya completed her BA in Industrial Design from RMIT in 2012, focussing on bioplastics and waste reuse. In 2014, she relocated to London to pursue fashion. Upon completion of her MA at the Royal College of Art in 2022, she revisited bioplastics and transitioned to metal for sculptures. With a love for materials and collaboration, she intuitively expresses her work through waste materials that are multi-functional, often juxtaposing different mediums. Primarily exploring her identity, Rooya reflects on migration, integration, mental health and cultural preservation of Maldives, in the face of rising sea levels.
Sandra Githinji is a Kenyan interdisciplinary designer, curator and educator based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). She leads the award-winning practice Sandra Githinji Studio that spans the intersections of cultural histories, pedagogy, activism, and the built form with a focus on cultural expressions that centre an African perspective, both on the continent and diasporic. The studio works across scales and typologies, including hospitality, residential, retail, exhibition, object design and brand collaborations.
Sean Brickhill is a designer-maker based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). Drawing inspiration from architecture, visual art and sculpture, Sean aims to bring a fresh take on furniture design and functional art. He believes in form before function but knows not to neglect the importance function carries in design. He aims to create works that provide traditional function in enterprising and aesthetically engaging ways.
Soft-geometry, founded by Indian designers Utharaa Zacharias and Palaash Chaudhary, is a collaborative studio practice based in San Francisco, USA. Describing their work as a study of softness, the studio creates collectible furniture, lighting, and objects that combine softness with intuitive hand-building, inspired by Indian craft traditions.
Established in 2017, Studio Thomas Lentini specialises in the design and craft of bespoke furniture. Each piece is a direct and meaningful response to its intended space or end user. Thomas completed a Diploma in Furniture Design & Technology in 2011, followed by the Associate Degree of Furniture Design in 2012 at RMIT. In October 2022, Thomas was invited by Tony Elwood AM to participate as a designer in Melbourne Now 2023.
Born in Tokyo, 1980, Wataru Kumano is a product designer and founder of Studio Kumano established in 2011. Studio Kumano is a multidisciplinary studio with projects spanning interior design, furniture design, product design, and international project management. Kumano completed a BA in Furniture Design at Lahti Polytechnic in 2004 and postgraduate studies at the University of Art and Design Helsinki, Aalto University, in 2008. In 2008, Kumano moved back to Japan to design for Jasper Morrison in Morrison’s Tokyo Studio.
Zain Al Khalifa, born in 1991, was raised in her home island of Bahrain and is currently based in Marseille, France. She is an early career artist who started her practice in 2022. She creates romantic-ish documentary portraiture of either people or places. Her style shows up most strongly, but not limited to, prints as she expresses a more playful, humorous, and experimental approach reworking images in the darkroom.