Walking up to Luxembourg’s city library, sitting in Central station, drawing pedestrians until, sketch after sketch, portraits of this city gradually came together to reflect the diversity of its people and the evolution of lifestyles, Lucie Majerus then embroidered some of these hand drawings with stitches and threads. Displayed on the windows of CeCiL’s Box, they gave viewers a peek into those who were observed.
“I have been embroidering since I was a teenager. Working with my hands is essential to me. When I embroider, it is like drawing with a needle and thread. The slow and repetitive movement becomes very meditative, which is something I truly appreciate. It also adds more depth and texture to a piece. For example, the embroidered portraits become more intimate and have more character than a drawing.” Lucie Majerus said.
每人只以一種顔色的線,在布料上刺繡點結。最後,每個坐墊都是獨一無二的,就像我們人類一樣。這是2016年Lucie和Cooperations Art in Wiltz (威爾茨的合作藝術畫廊)的合作,目的是將手工藝術重新融入現代和本地產品中,這些產品是在一個使用回收材料的庇護車間製作的;每位藝術家隨著相同的遊戲規則繡出不一樣的筆跡。
Each person only uses one coloured thread to embroider dots on the fabric. In the end, each cushion was one of a kind, just like us humans. This was a collaboration between Lucie and Cooperations Art in Wiltz in 2016, the goal of which was to reintegrate handicrafts into modern and local products. These products were made in a sheltered workshop that utilises recycled materials; Every artist follows the same game rules to leave a different mark with his or her embroidery.
“Repetition of the same but not becoming the same. It can be applied to different contexts focusing on social integration.” The samples of Vol. I in 2013 were some of such made by a group of women coming from De Boei Kunst with psychiatric backgrounds.
Lucie takes “Human Ivory” as a metaphor for the inherent values our bodies possess. Rather than chasing after the tusks of other species, we could value our own “materials” and rethink conventional “preciousness”. She polishes clients’ teeth into pearls to preserve the moments and stories when the teeth were lost, giving each pearl more character. “Design is not just creating a functional product for the industry, as a designer you are free to create a concept for different contexts and scales. A product can be a public space, for example you design the way the user will experience it. ”
Lucie continued, “I did my bachelor’s there in the major Man & Leisure, which is a very free department, focusing on research and conceptual thinking. Some Design Academy projects can be easily identified as a specific department style, by having a very specific look and feeling towards them. Man & Leisure projects are very broadly diversified and differ a lot in style and feeling, they can’t be as easily fit into a specific department box.”
“The most inspiring thing was definitely that there are no boundaries in thinking and making while designing. You have a fresh look at everything which surrounds you and you start to question and rethink the ordinary. This design process uses time for researching the context for the product. In my opinion, the experience design of a product revolves around the whole experience and connection created between user and design. This also includes that a lot of thought is put into a project while designing it. Not only its functionality but also a lot about the material origin, production process and the relationship created for the user. This layer could also be called storytelling, which means that the consumer learns more about the context, intention and the origin of the product.
The same conceptual approach can be used in different scales, for instance, you have the same holistic approach while designing a piece of jewellery. We were constantly being questioned:
Why do you design it like that, what is its value? Why should it be made?”
Feathers 2014 No animals were harmed. Textiles were used to create feathers in the making of modern feather hats Red 2011 Making necklaces with pill bottle caps Making accessories with olive seeds / melon skins
“In our world nowadays these are critical and necessary questions, as we are leading towards a world where resources and materials are becoming scarce and we need to rethink the cycle of products. Contemporary design is not finished when it ends up at the customer. We as designers and together with the whole industries, we need to consider the whole life cycle of our objects, which surround us. Circularity thinking, repairing and emotional values created between object and user are essential. ”
“My projects convey many messages, but maybe the most important ones are that first we should reconsider the way we consume and create, thus less is definitely more. Second, we should never forget to have fun, a playful approach to design is essential for me.”
The happiest thing about writing about this friend who I admire was realising, despite our being separated in different corners of the world, how much we inadvertently share in our ideas.