Exhibition

Fetish

Thursday 14. December at 13:00: Presentation

Our anthropomorphic brain never rests and is just as easily triggered by technology, design or art as by animals. Who hasn't seen, in the rear-view mirror, vehicles on the road with sad, angry, benign or other faces. We know that human facial muscles are very advanced, and the contemporary explanation is that we are well rehearsed in interpreting facial expressions and therefor are on the lookout for anything we should react to.

The side effect is that we embody the creatures and objects we meet with intent or meaning. Even if there are none. Is this effect something we cherish or is it a phenomenon we should treat with scrutiny? When we direct our emotions toward, or even into, objects and creatures, and when the combination between the two become inseparable we might compare it with a Pavlovian response.

Some objects seem to have the ability to evoke certain emotional responses. It is obvious and strange at the same time and fetishes is an interesting manifestation of the phenomenon. Be it shoes, slime, leather or other completely mundane stash.

FETISH exhibits design works experimenting with several discoveries. Firstly, that the word fetish, from latin factitious, in its original condescending form describes human-made objects that has supernatural power over other people. The discovery however is that this power is given, either freely or involuntarily, not taken, because we don’t believe in supernatural powers anymore. Our study therefor goes inward.

Secondly, that the dogma of furniture typologies is obviously fetishist and excludes more that it includes. Our convictions regarding desirables are malleable.

What happens when we then treat our craft traditions as fetishes?