Gallery

Description

TUFT is an evolution of the tape concept into a more permanent, self-standing, transferable structure. Adhesive tape was used to generate the primary form of the object. The organic surface of the carpet was later achieved through precise division of the shape in two-dimensional segments, enabling traditional tufting technology. The development and production was executed in the Croatian factory Regeneracija, a former regional industrial giant.
Rough, industrial surface of the back side of the carpet is deliberately exposed to serve as a counterpoint to the invitingly soft, carnal interior. The result is a surreal simultaneous feeling of anxiety and thrill whilst entering into the installation. The exhibition of the structure at the height of 4 meters in the middle of the former church in Pula, additionally enhanced the tension and the sensational perception of the visitor. After the initial caution, the user starts perceiving the functional aspect of the installation, utilizing the softness and sound isolation of the installation and using it as an inward facing collective sofa.

Biography

Numen/For Use is a Croatian-Austrian design collective working in the fields of scenography, industrial and spatial design and conceptual art. The group first formed in 1998, as a collaborative effort of industrial designers Sven Jonke, Christoph Katzler and Nikola Radeljković under the banner For Use.

In 1999, they established Numen as a collective identity covering all projects outside the sphere of industrial design. The group's early enterprises are characterized by experiments with impersonal design and radical formal reduction, deeply rooted in the tradition of high modernism and mainly applied to various synergetic total-design projects.

From 2004 onwards, after setting up a large scale site-specific project for the production of “Inferno” in the National Centre for Drama in Madrid, Numen/ For Use become intensely involved with scenography. Further realizations in theatres across Europe followed. Since 2008, the collective turned its focus towards configuring objects and concepts without a predefined function, activity resulting in the more hybrid and experimental works. Parallel to these publicly exposed ventures, the group won several international awards for their accomplishments in the field of industrial and set design.