Design Exquis

Riffing on the ever-popular Exquisite Corpse concept, the upcoming Design Exquis show will see designers create a series of physical objects, each inspired by the last.

Design Exquis perhaps has more in common with the idea of Chinese Whispers than Exquisite Corpse, as rather than creating a single, composite object, the designers will each create a single object – inspired by its immediate predecessor, with no reference to earlier objects.

The result, presumably, will be a long chain of designs, each getting more abstract than the last.

Soap. The Design Exquis starting point

Source: Emma TS Robinson

Soap. The Design Exquis starting point

Object number one is a fittingly banal bar of soap. This was given to designer number one Jacopo Sarzi.

Sarzi’s response was, somewhat unexpectedly, to create an ice-cream maker.

He explains, ‘It is all linked to the process of how soap is fabricated and how ice-cream is fabricated.

‘Soap is a very ancient product and so is ice-cream. Traditional soaps have flavours like olive oil, cocoa butter and almond, all flavours that could fit with ice-cream, so for me there is a strong relationship.’

Jacopo Sarzi's ice-cream maker

Source: Emma TS Robinson

Jacopo Sarzi’s ice-cream maker

Sarzi’s ice-cream maker will be passed on to designer number two, who will pass their object to the third, and thence to the fourth.

All four newly created objects – alongside the soap source object will be displayed at London’s Roca Gallery for the show next month.

Design Exquis is at Roca London Gallery, Townmead Road, London SW6, from 7 September-16 November.

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