Stories in Form

Object’s 2012 program launches with a bang as they play host to a new exhibition featuring five outstanding Australian designers.

Henry Wilson, winner of the 2011 Bombay Sapphire Award will feature alongside other talented Australian designers including Elliat Rich, Bernabeifreeman (Rina Bernabei and Kelly Freeman), Cinnamon Lee and Ben McCarthy. With products on display ranging from dining chairs, to lights and bowls, these are everyday objects that are framed in a new way.

Stories in Form will look at the dynamic process that involves designers, products and owners in the storytelling process. From the initial ideas that inspire the product, to changes in the object resulting from use, every product has a story. Importantly, stories provide an opportunity to break the throwaway relationship we have with our things, and encourage owners to keep their products for longer.

A series of dining chairs by Alice Springs based designer Elliat Rich will be presented at various stages of wear. Over the course of their life, the chairs become more beautiful as a result of their interaction with the owner.

Bernabeifreeman, offer lights that provide the potential for users to complete the making process. The perforated aluminium lights allow room for new memories to be made by being involved in the making of the product.

Design archetypes are saturated with stories. Henry Wilson has made changes to well known forms by attaching new elements to the product or adapting existing ones. His work tells tales of the designer’s creative process.

A number of lights by metalsmith Cinnamon Lee are closely associated with their manufacture. The story of a product’s making is often overlooked but speaks of changing technologies and the making process.

Not simply a decorative piece, Ben McCarthy’s bowl is intended for use. Each chip and scratch made by the owner leaves a mark on the surface, but also marks a moment in his or her life and slowly changes the character of the bowl.

The stories from the exhibition are not restricted to the gallery. The exhibition will be supported with exciting online content including interviews with the designers. Images of work by international designers will also be shown, providing an international context for the concept behind the exhibition.

Visitors are encouraged to share their stories about the products via the online platform. What memories of people and places do the products generate for you?

The four ways of understanding storytelling in a product through Narrative, History, Manufacture and Interaction, is based on the research of Rina Bernabei, Kelly Freeman and Jacqueline Power from the Faculty of the Built Environment at the University of New South Wales. The foundation for this research first emerged in the design practice of Bernabeifreeman.

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