Click to enlarge

SIT UP, SIT UP

They don’t make them like they used to profiles a selection of appealing recent Wellington interior design, ranging from furniture to architecture and product design. Picking up on one of the big contemporary concerns in design, this exhibition focuses on individuals and companies whose interests extend into a philosophy of sustainable production. The exhibition title is an ironic allusion to the type of wistful comments those of older generations may use, bemoaning change and talking about ‘the good old days’.

This exhibition posits that change can be a necessary and positive step, and that it is possible for our decisions regarding consumption to be critical rather than made out of habit. Several of the designers in this exhibition use creative approaches to face issues of increasing environmental concern, not only through using recycled materials but by also making durable, multifunctional products, challenging accepted definitions of sustainability.

One of the concerns designers in this exhibition have spoken of is their desire to not have to compromise on the ‘look’ of their work for the sake of being environmentally friendly. They don’t make them like they used to starts a conversation on what sustainability is and throws up a number of possible tacks on how it can be approached in a design context. This exhibition encourages us to consider the many aspects of the products we buy; the waste created by its production, how long it is likely to last, the efficiency of its use of materials and the social impact of its manufacture. It offers examples of how these issues can be met, whilst retaining design integrity.

Duncan Sargent has worked on several film and theatre projects. Sargent has exhibited his furniture at Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt in 2001 and 2005 and at 100% Design, London in 1999. He was a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards in 1991 and 1992. In 2006 Sargent opened 91, a studio/gallery in Newtown.

Conscious Design (Stu Barr, Nathan Goldsworthy and James Whitta)
Stu Barr, Creator of the Tio concept, Stu has exhibited his furniture at the War Memorial Museum, Auckland and the Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt.

Nathan Goldsworthy, co-founder and director of Conscious Design, has exhibited pieces at 100% design, London; the War Memorial Museum, Auckland; the innovations Room at Fashion Week 04 and the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt.

James Whitta, co-founder and director of Conscious Design, won the Metaform03 furniture design competition, which included a ticket to the Milan furniture Fair in 2004. James has exhibited his furniture at the War Memorial Museum, Auckland; the innovations Room at Fashion Week 04 and the Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt.

Tennent + Brown Architects Ltd is a Wellington-based architectural firm that won the NZIA New Zealand Award for Architecture for the Spy Valley winery, Marlborough (with Bevin Slessor Architects in 2006) and was the 2006 Winner of the Home and Entertaining House of the Year for Canna House.

They don’t make them like they used to
Michael Hirschfeld Gallery, City Gallery Wellington
February 17 to March 18

Michael Hirschfeld Gallery is proudly sponsored by DesignWorks Enterprise IG. Thanks also to Resolution Print, Colourcraft; and Publication and Design, Wellington City Council.

ENDS

© Scoop Media