Cubes full of life

"Send us an object, a design, a found object, a readymade that fits into this box. Tell us the story about it! And feel free to pass on the second box" – this short message was enclosed with the boxes. 25 pieces have since found their way back to the initiators, filled with creative ideas, concepts, questions and objects, most of which can already be explored in the virtual presentation. Further contributions are to follow.

The range of works is diverse and refers to the challenging time of upheaval in which we are currently living: Jeannette Altherr and Laura Santarelli thus packed a set with inspirations, thoughts and questions about what could or should move designers today, including the statement "We don't need more objects, but a different narrative". Catharina Lorenz and Steffen Kaz asked themselves how to survive Day X with only very small luggage. Their answer is the "DDS 3000 Doomsday Shelter Construction Kit", consisting of 56 carbon rods, aluminium and brass elements, four feet and a tent foil made of metallised polyester, the same material that rescue blankets are made of. Valentin Lindau and Jonas Schneider created the interactive light object "Dreimalzwei" (Three times two) in a 3D printing process based on the dimensions of the box. When at least two hands touch it, the light is activated; when three pairs of hands meet in an interplay, it shimmers in a play of colours. The cardboard itself was also included as part of the work beyond its function as shipping protection and temporary storage: Printed, inscribed or provided with recesses that can be illuminated as in a lantern. Justus Theinert, on the other hand, placed a ticking object in his box and closed it. He enclosed the note with the return: "My box cannot be opened. Please do not try. I don't think designers deal with things. They deal with life. Living in a Box meant to me in the first moment: having time." (am)

Participants "Living in a box – Collection of Artefacts":

Sophie Alex, Berlin
Graphic designer

Jeannette Altherr & Laura Santarelli, Barcelona
Product and industrial designers, Lievore+Altherr Désile Park / Phantasia Services

Carl Auböck IV, Vienna
Designer, Architect, Maker

Carl Auböck V., Vienna
Architect, brass belt maker and TIG welder

Verena Bachl, Berlin
Experimental artist, Studio Verena Bachl

Sebastian Bergne, London
Product designer, Sebastian Bergne Ltd.

David Bielander, Munich
Goldsmith, jewellery artist

Helen Britton, Munich
Jewellery artist, goldsmith

Dr. Chup Friemert, Hamburg and Süderstapel
Product designer, emeritus professor of design history and design theory, Hamburg University of Fine Arts

Karl Fritsch, Wellington
Jewellery artist, goldsmith

Jaime Jenkins, Tauranga
Artist, ceramist

Jean-Baptiste Joly, Berlin
Germanist, curator, former director of the Akademie Schloss Solitude Stuttgart, honorary professor for theory and history, weissensee kunsthochschule berlin

Steffen Kaz & Katharina Lorenz, Milan
Product, graphic and interior designers, lorenz+kaz

Valentin Lindau & Jonas Schneider, Berlin
Product and interaction designers, studio hint

Ludwig Menzel, Berlin
Silversmith

Sophie Smallhorn, London
Artist, Art Consultant

Ulrike Steinke, Munich
Book artist, graphic designer, illustrator

Dr. Mariko Takagi, Kyoto
Typographer, book designer, author and professor, Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts

Haiyue Tao, Hangzhou and Berlin
Product designer, MÍN Agency

Justus Theinert, Stuttgart
Product designer, design publicist, professor of design and theory at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences

Lisa Walker, Wellington
Jewellery designer, goldsmith, artist

Xinyu Wang, Hangzhou and Berlin
Product designer, yuuedesign

Babette Wiezorek, Berlin
Product designer, additiveaddicted

Yi Meng Wu, Berlin
Designer, art and cultural education, Studio Wu

Christian Zöllner, Dresden
Designer, design and research studio The Constitute, professor of design methods and experiment at Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle