Jointly designed by P*DA 2006 and 2014 recipients Theseus Chan and Studio Jojo, Rope Chandelier is an ode to individualistic expression, new ventures and process. The installation appropriates familiar objects to create a spirit of experimentation and verve that comes when creating the unknown.
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An inevitable consequence of a driven culture for far too long, our society’s fixation on success and status quo has discouraged many from individualistic expression. Adopting something not yet done before or popular are deemed as risky ventures.
Rope Chandelier celebrates the importance of the process that leads to the undefined domain. It exemplifies the attributes that characterises an unfinished ‘design’ piece; familiar objects are appropriated in this installation, so viewers first encounter them as common but different.
Recontextualised due to the occasion and space, Rope Chandelier creates the spirit of experimentation, accidents, failures, awaking a sense of verve that comes when creating the unknown.
“Rope Chandelier is about processes. We are asking questions like, ‘Can a piece of abandoned work be genuinely accepted as finished?’ ‘What will be the emotional outcomes if one’s expectations are not as one’s imagination?’” says Theseus Chan, founder and creative director of design studio WORK, who has worked with brands like Comme des Garçons, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.
Often referred to as “the godfather of Singapore graphic design”, Chan is Singapore’s first visual communications designer to be awarded Designer of the Year at the inaugural P*DA 2006, while Studio Juju received the Design of the Year award at P*DA 2014 for its Rabbit & Tortoise collection, which was hailed for its “poetic elegance” and “design versatility”.