Alongside Drifter, the largest-ever Fragile
Future installation and other greatest hits,
the exhibition will also include a new
installation, Elementism. ‘It is a starting point
of a research project, based on the elements
that make up our world, to realise what
our responsibilities are to everything we take
from the Earth.’ Objects will be deformed and
reshaped into cubes of their base materials.
Gordijn says Elementism shows the very power
of ideas. ‘When you take the idea away from
an object, you have only the material left.’
The pair are also working on new projects
to be revealed later this year, including a
large light sculpture that aims to change the
landscape and skyline of an American city,
and a moving pavilion for the gallerist
Philippe Gravier. ‘This time we are creating
the whole space as an experience,’ says
Gordijn. ‘The scale is challenging.’
Having a wider stage means greater
responsibilities, but also the potential to
start new conversations. ‘One of our missions
is to become a serious partner in important
technological developments. We cannot
approach it from a purely technical point
of view. We have to approach from an
intuitive and emotional perspective. After
millions of years being human beings, we still
need safety, we still need food, we still need
love – these are the essentials, and technology
should support life in that way,’ says Gordijn.
And Studio Drift is wasting no time.
The duo are ready to build a new base, it for
this broader mission. They are collaborating
with OMA on part of the architects’
redevelopment of Bijlmerbajes, a former
prison complex in Amsterdam, which they
aim to turn into a collective workspace,
research centre and laboratory. ‘We are
recruiting interesting design and art studios
that are working along the same lines as we
are, and we want to work on future solutions
with technology partners,’ Gordijn says.
‘It is also a statement to the outside world.’ ∂
‘Coded Nature’, 25 April-26 August, Stedelijk
Museum, Amsterdam, stedelijk.nl; studiodrift.comABOVE LEFT, WORK IN
PROGRESS ON FRAGILE
FUTURE MODULES,
WHICH FEATURE
DANDELION SEEDS
GLUED TO LED LIGHTS
ABOVE RIGHT, AN EARLY
SKETCH OF THE DESIGN
CREATED BY GORDIJN
FOR HER GRADUATION
PROJECT AT THE DESIGN
ACADEMY EINDHOVEN
LEFT, A MODEL OF A
MOVING PAVILION FOR
PHILIPPE GRAVIER‘We have to approach technology from
an intuitive, emotional perspective’
102 ∑
Design