The Necessity of the Strange

I travelled to Joya: AiR to focus on a project around the theme of Eco Anxiety. I had planned to create a group of objects that translated emotions through tactile dialogues and aid the expression of existential ecological anxiety. Upon arrival I was struck by the incredibly beautiful and diverse landscape, situated in a carbon neutral setting that seemed to thrive within its environment, resulting in admiration and awe, feeling quite the opposite of anxiety and doom.

I explored a new direction to understand the parallels in feelings between Joya and the urban spaces of home, and what was needed to convey these intersecting emotions. By incorporating found objects from meandering walks through the branco together with my laser cut designs, I began to explore how these feelings of anxiety could live alongside eco awakenings.

This all led to the creation of a set of almost alien, dark and intriguing ceramic objects, drawing you in whilst making you question their purpose and asking how they might speak and interact with each other. I tried to take off my designer hat and relinquish control to the confusing feelings; writing and culminating in an essay “The necessity of the strange”. The strange is the fascinating, the weird, the thing that pulls you in. Creating a dream like reality of strangeness through my objects may radically represent the emotions I have been trying to emanate, with the unperfect reflecting just how confusing eco anxiety can be.