Birgit Severin : Ashes

Découverte lors de la Paris Design Week, "Ashes" est une série de vases et de contenant de caoutchouc imaginée par la designer Birgit Severin. Réflexion sur la brièveté de la vie, les pièces sont fabriquées à l’aide de techniques modernes comme l’impression 3d et de savoir faire plus traditionnels.

Créée dans un premier temps en plâtre grâce à l’impression 3d, l’emprunte est ensuite utilisée pour former un moule de silicone dans lequel est coulé le caoutchouc. La finesse des détails obtenus grâce à l’impression 3d, permet de former de minuscules bulles au rendu brillant qui viennent contraster le caoutchouc mat. Le temps de durcissement du matériau permet ensuite à la designer de façonner les pièces à la main pour leur donner des formes et des finitions imparfaites qui rendent ces créations vivantes et organiques.

Sur ce projet, la designer Birgit Severin précise :

"Ashes is a series of household objects which explores associations between beauty and death. Flowers and fruit are symbols of beauty, youth and pleasure. Simultaneously, in their decay they become reminders of life’s brevity and the inevitability of death. The Ashes series, which includes bowls and vases, acknowledges both aspects in equal measure.

The expressive power of withering was commonly used to represent the idea of vanitas in art, particularly in Flemish painting. The project reinterprets this concept for the context of the modern household, with the help of 3D printing and other modern production techniques.

Production

The project combines the newest high-tech technologies with handcraft to produce unique items.

The object is designed and then 3D printed in plaster. The fine geometrical pattern on its surface is made from thousands of small cylinders, utilising the capability of 3D printing to create fine detail.

The 3D print is then used to produce a silicon mould for rubber rotation casting. The cylinders protruding from the surface of the print become tiny cavities inside the mould. Air trapped inside the cavities prevents rubber from filling them completely, resulting in shiny dots on the surface of the finished cast.

Depending on the curing time of the rubber object inside the mould, the result is either a perfectly hard vase, or, if taken out ‚too early‘, one that can be freely shaped and modified by hand."

Pour en savoir plus, visitez le site de Birgit Severin.