An Archive Of Impossible Objects: Globes
Speculative Design, 2019
Exhibited at the Centre Pompidou (2020) and Kunstmuseen Krefeld (2019).
Globes
The Globes are a commission from the Kunstmuseen Krefeld for its contribution to the Germany-wide Bauhaus100 program in 2019, marking the centennial anniversary of the Bauhaus:
“Living and dwelling go hand in hand. Countless different forms of domestic interiors are situated between the beautiful living environments featured in lifestyle magazines and public housing, between individual home design and visionary social models.”
In the late 1920s, the international architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) designed Haus Lange and Haus Esters in Krefeld—two villas that merge the personal style of their inhabitants and the architect’s own utopian aspirations. How did one live in these houses in the past, how mobile is our present-day society and what forms of living can be expected in the future are the main themes of the “Alternatives For Living” project. For this the Mies villas will be converted into a discussion platform. Sixteen international artists, architects and designers will realize innovative living and dwelling concepts for the two houses as well as the garden area.
Our contribution focused on the globe. Today, as a domestic object, the globe is almost a form of kitsch, but we found its status as one of the oldest conceptual models of our world, made physical, fascinating. Rather than focusing on one world, ours, we identified other worlds from literature, amateur thought experiments and the fringes of science that represent different kinds of imaginations, all co-existing, jostling for room within one space. Three imaginary topographical maps accompany the globes, something we’d like to develop in future with other collaborators. Each map makes use of conventional markings, but don’t quite make sense, suggesting different kinds of atmosphere, climate, geology, forces, and fields to those shaping our world.
Special thanks
— Anthony Dunne, Project Lead
— Fiona Raby, Project Lead
— Katia Baudin, Director
— Sylvia Martin, Associate Director
— Magdalena Holzhey, Curator of Collections
— Julia Reich
— Carolyn Kirscher, Design Assistance
— Devon Reina, Design Assistance
︎ Project website Dunne & Raby
︎ Exhibition information
︎ Curators Statement (+ in EN)