Fossils are objects that require involvement. Their user cannot remain indifferent but must inspect, touch and play with them. The collection includes a hand-carved coffee table and a set of wall shelves with ceramic tableware, as well as a cabinet and a hand-woven kilim rug.
The form of the objects from the FOSSILS collection refers to the fossil formation process and, therefore, to the creation of a trace of organic matter in a stone. The furniture and ceramics have been created by double repetition of the process in two different materials, wood and clay. The table Fossil no 1 is a scaled-up representation of a fossil, made of oak wood.
The openings in the tabletop are designed to accommodate the tableware. The shapes of the individual pieces of crockery match specific openings. The Body Fossil set was made by pushing and pressing clay into these hollows. Individual vessels are, on the one hand, the negative of the imprinted fossil and, on the other hand, a primitive reflection of a gesture. The objects so created evoke fragments of human body and, as they do not have a standard vessel form, they force the user to reconsider the body-object relationship; they encourage to rediscover the gesture of grasping, bringing to the lips, putting in or taking out. Replaceable tableware is available in several variants, differing in size and height in relation to the tabletop. The user can change the setting of the dishes by assigning them a function and adapting them to different oppenings depending on their needs.
Credits:
Concept and design: Anna Bera
Production: The Whole Elements in collaboration with ceramic artist Agnieszka Ciszewska, weaver Zygmunt Łukasiewicz and Lasart Jakub Lasek
Photos: Emilia Oksentowicz, The Whole Elements
Year: 2017-2018