Traveling expo Rethinking Plastic
Plastic is considered a cheap material, which is why we quickly throw it away. With all its consequences. It is high time to look at plastic differently and deal with it differently. Designers can show us the way. How? That is what the exhibition ‘Rethinking Plastic; Design differently with the world’s most maligned material, is about – curated by Leonne Cuppen (curator Embassy of Rethinking Plastic) and on display during Romanian Design Week, June 4-13 in Bucharest.
We now realize the urgency of plastic as an environmental problem. But at the same time, it is a very useful material. A world without plastic is hard to imagine. Think for example about applications in healthcare, transport, electricity supply and food safety.
So it is high time to use, approach and think about plastic differently. Designers play a crucial role in this necessary transition. They can contribute by raising awareness and developing alternatives. By designing in such a way that plastic products last longer and are easier to separate and therefore easier to recycle. By devising methods and systems to collect plastic in a meaningful way. When reusing and upcycling plastic in new products. And certainly also when creating (emotional) value so that users experience plastic differently.
The traveling exhibition Rethinking Plastic shows thirty-five surprising examples on the basis of four themes. From vases made from cigarette filters to mealworms that eat styrofoam and convert it into protein. From sneakers with a sole from recycled chewing gum to plastic-like materials manufactured by bacteria and clothing ‘grown’ by fungi.
The Romanian Design Week has nominated some Romanian designers as participants, including Madalin Gheorghe (computer-generated and 3D-printed objects) and the fashion brand Borbola (upcycling of plastic). Their works will travel back to Eindhoven to be exhibited there at Dutch Design Week 2021 (16-24 October).
The traveling exhibition Rethinking Plastic is part of an extensive two-year program on the theme of plastic, with varying exhibitions, presentations, lectures, workshops and film evenings. At Yksi Expo and at other locations in the Netherlands and abroad, including Moscow. Students from various design courses will also work on the theme of plastic.
Rethinking Plastic in Bucharest is a collaboration between Yksi Connect, Yksi Expo and the Romanian Design Week.
Participant list:
Ineke Hans, Shahar Livne, Interface, Dirk van der Kooij, NAT-2, New order of fashion, Dave Fransen (Publicis Groupe) en Garezi Septara (Explicit), Ellen Willink (Cloetta), Elissa Brunato, Plasticiet, Gundega Strauberga, Soowon Chae, Sarah Harbath, Studio LaVina, Jannis Kempkens, Studio Marc, Jeannette Lili Weiss, Bureau SLA, Overtreders W & Pretty Plastic, Dorian Renard, Crafting Plastic studio, Basse Stittgen, Jessica den Hartog, Studio High Society, Suzanne Jongmans, Gianmaria Della Ratta, Dave Hakkens, Daan Veerman, Tjeerd Veenhoven, Lucas Zito, Jean Babtiste Gambier, Lionne van Deursen, Borbala, Madalin Gheorghe en Andrei Bryan Goudarzi.