Group Project by Jamel Jama, Jacqueline Yang, and Aishwarya Sanchety
The Rapid Response collection at the V&A is intriguing but also overwhelming. The exhibition’s curator(s) have clearly very thoughtfully designed this collection, and collectively, they made me think about how design impacts society and how society impacts design.
The three products we chose to analyse are:
1. ‘Into the Weird Adult Video Emporium’ – Single-use plastic shopping bag, 2019. Designed and manufactured for East West Market, Vancouver. Material: Polyethylene film and ink.
2. Macbook Air Casing and Components – Manufactured for Apple, USA 2012, destroyed 2013. Designed by Jonathan Ive.
3. Hands-free 3D Printed Door Openers – Designed and printed by Materialise, 2020.
Made in Belgium. Material: Polyamide (SLS).
We chose the single-use plastic bag to move ahead with for this project. As a group, we found it interesting that a plastic bag was on display at the exhibition. It isn’t something we would expect, something so mundane, a tool of daily convenience from recent history, on display in a museum. We found the story behind its invention and rise to prominence very interesting because it was originally designed to solve a problem, but instead became a symbol for mass consumerism and the destruction of ecosystems around the world.
CRITICAL ENQUIRY: This object made us think of whether designers can solve problems without creating any? Can design be used to simply and effectively solve problems like the plastic bag was meant to do, without contributing to environmental and societal problems? As designers, we have a responsibility to safeguard our self-respect by choosing some projects over others and making sure that design is used to spark a debate about how issues like pollution are tackled on a global scale.
Experiments:
1. We started our experimentation by exploring the object’s materiality. The way plastic bags look is often ignored as they are mainly used for their functionality and convenience. We scanned the plastic bags to conduct a detailed analysis of their texture and the organic patterns they create.
2. As plastic bags are often overlooked, we wanted to exaggerate their context by photographing them in a studio setting, with a white backdrop and specific lighting. The results were delicate and fluid sculptures-like artworks. Although the bags were positioned spontaneously, the possibility of what the shapes could inspire is limitless.
3. Plastic waste affects wildlife, ecosystems, and people. Single-use plastics specifically are a big part of this problem, they are prevalent and trying to avoid them is extremely hard. This set of experiments is a creative exploration to increase awareness of the harmful effects of plastic in our environment. The purpose of photoshopping plastic on flora and fauna creates an action-oriented creative that hopes to change people’s opinions about plastic consumption, encourage people to make a difference, and sparks a conversation about how design plays a role in shaping some of the biggest issues of our time.
4. Lastly, we created a couple of informational clips that shows the timeline of the plastic bag and how it’s damaging our habitats.