Prague International Design Festival

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DOMUS, the main exhibition of Pilsen 2015 - European Capital of Culture is now open!

27. 4. 2015

Five rivers, boundless nature, theatre, machines – all in perfect unison. Werner Aisslinger, Marlene Huissoud, Jiří Příhoda, Jan Plecháč and Henry Wielgus, Maxim Velčovský and dozens of other designers from all over the world join to create a new landscape. An industrial depot is transformed into a site of pilgrimage that embraces the narrative of contemporary design – a place to pause and reflect upon the symbolic stories of the everyday.

 

Exhibition curators Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek describe the concept in the following way: “We have created, in collaboration with respected Czech and foreign designers, an installation that offers a variety of experiences. The installation should serve as a common meeting-point for themes that are central to the Pilsen  – European Capital of Culture 2015 project. It should be a pilgrimage site in the true sense of the word, a place that reflects progressive trends in contemporary art and design, yet responds to contemporary spiritual and lifestyle needs in a very authentic way. The concept is to produce an original Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art in form as well as being a very impressive story – two features that are absolutely essential for good design.

Water, play, land, mysticism and machines – the curators believe that all these themes are closely linked with the Pilsen region, yet universal and specific enough to be interpreted through the narrative of contemporary design. Moreover, these themes are essential for the development of human society since they look for answers to questions related to sustainable development and continuity between the past and present.

Interpreted by Michaela Tomišková and Jakub Janďourek from Dechem studio, winners of the Grand Designer of the Year 2014 Award, the theme of Water is inspired by the monastery in Plasy and by baroque principles of the evident and the concealed.

The theme of Mysticism is interpreted by two designers, one of whom is Janja Prokič, winner of the Jewellery Designer of the Year 2014 Award. She has created a model of the Holy Grail based on the legend of the miraculous Virgin Mary of Klatovy. The other, Jiří Příhoda, has complemented the chapel with a baroque helix that leads up toward the upper realms of the Dome to the small hermitage.

Inspired by the industrial history of Pilsen, designers Jan Plecháč and Henry Wielgus have interpreted the theme of Machines by designing a simple interactive mechanical machine that plays Ode to Joy.

Focusing on the theme of Play, Maxim Velčovský has created a contemporary neon coat of arms for the Pilsner region that shows a crying Virgin Mary, a baroque pilgrimage route, the Škoda Works, Spejbl and Hurvínek, beer, football, and more.

The theme of Land is interpreted by Werner Aisslinger, designer of the entire installation. The greenhouse includes his project, Chair Farm. If watered properly, this chair will grow for the duration of the exhibition. 

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