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05 21Current Age – Solo Exhibition at Z33
01.05 – 01.08.2021
We are proudly announcing our first solo exhibition at Z33.
What role can we designers play in the generation, distribution and use of electricity?
A network of cables – like veins in a human body – entangle our entire planet. They transport a commodity of unparalleled importance to human civilization: electricity.
Without electricity, elements of communication, food preparation, festivities, production, traffic management, data storage, etc. would all take on very different forms. Electricity shapes our Western society as we know it today. It enables and feeds our current identities as (Western) human beings.
But also, electricity is a killer. It is involved directly or indirectly in many of the wicked problems in our current Anthropocene world. The generation of electricity is linked to climate change, it’s distribution systems through cables and storage in batteries to modern slavery and the exhaustion of rare earth materials, and it’s usage in household appliances and the industry to pollution and waste, …
Electricity is an addictive resource on which we collectively overdose, yet it is an immaterial commodity that we take for granted in our environment. Only when the power runs out, we realize the instant comforts it brings. Studio Plastique therefore wants to reshape our relationship with the electric current by critically questioning the current scenario’s and possibilities. What are the options for redesigning this system? Can we live more disconnected from the grid? Bringing back a focus on electricity might contribute to more curiosity and awareness, more discussion and a more responsible way of relating to this power supply.
Curated by Annelies Thoelen
In the context of ELEMENTS with Bonnefanten Museum, CIAP/FLACC, De Domijnen, Espace Du Nord, Jan van Eyck Academy, Marres Maastricht and Schunk.
