JKR

I went along to the Lowe nova show last night. It’s where they showcase the pick of the Central St. Martins Graduate Shows, across all the courses. It’s great that they are putting some energy into championing the stars of tomorrow. There were lots of lovely things to see, but this piece, by Erika Renedo Illarregi, who studied industrial design knocked me out.

Here is the designer’s explanation of it: “Empathology is a set of objects that by being analogous to the principles that govern dreams and troubled minds help to generate empathy among couples, families and friends affected by mental health. You have to accept diversity in order to become equal and Empathology is about attracting that diversity. The objective is to help families bypass judgmental perspectives and go beyond the pathological view of people affected by mental health.”

I think this work is great on several levels. It’s based on a really deep thought: that to achieve equality we have to embrace and celebrate diversity. Also, with its many well crafted pieces in diverse materials it showcases the designer’s breadth of ability. But mostly I love it because it’s witty, and dreamlike, and sticks in your head. I particularly love the inverted milk jug. Each season graduate shows present us with a blizzard of images and ideas. For me, it’s the unexpected and engaging ones like this, the imaginative and well executed ones, which I carry away in my head long after all the work comes down and the students (hopefully) go on to have fullfilling lives and careers.