Output details

spoonness

Between 2008 - 2013 Fabian created a series of experimental artefacts building on his doctoral research on ‘spoonness’. The aims and objectives have been to develop a design strategy to create new and original artefacts which refer to the Platonic idea of the concept of an abstract quality or property we find in things. The object-in-view, the object-in-use and the philosophical context (object-in-mind) were combined with design workshop practice to generate new artefacts that challenge our visual, functional and conceptual understanding of the spoon. This philosophical approach could also apply to other objects: for example, the chair and ‘chairness’, to develop new insights into the aesthetics and functions of everyday objects which are often taken for granted.

The resulting artefacts have been acknowledged in subsequent showcasing of artefacts in international exhibitions (Contemporary Silver, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2009; Recycling, Zilver Museum Sterckhof, Antwerp, 2010; Multiples, Gallery SO, London and Solothurn, Switzerland; Collect, Saatchi & Saatchi Gallery, London, 2013 (curator - Mary La Trobe-Bateman). The significance and originality of Fabian’s research was further acknowledged in his invitation to exhibit 11 artefacts for the international touring exhibition ‘Beneath the Skin’ (Sheffield Hallam University-SIA Gallery, Sheffield, 2011; Galerie Marzee-Nijmegen, 2012). That exhibition, comprising world-leading specialists in contemporary metalwork and jewellery, revealed new insights into the research conceptualisation and development behind finished metal artefacts. The exhibition, funded by the Arts Council of England and National Lottery Fund was accompanied by a symposium (with Sheffield Hallam University (2011) and catalogue, ‘Beneath the Skin’. This disseminated and elaborated the exhibits’ innovations for international metalware design, evidenced by their publication in Marzee Magazine #85 and reviews, notably Buxton’s (Crafts Magazine: March/April 2011), which highlighted the exhibition’s new insights into creative metalware design processes for both academic research and broader audiences seeking to understand the finished work.