Amandine Alessandra
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REPLICA

Riya Patel, curator at the Aram Gallery, interviews Studio Furthermore about their current show, REPLICA.


Iain and Marina (Studio Furthermore) have been involved in group shows at the gallery a couple of times, but their REPLICA collection gave an opportunity to use the whole space for a presentation.
The collection of furniture, lighting and objects is made using unique methods developed by the studio, which they refer to as the ‘lost foam’ processes.
For the ceramic pieces, each part is carefully handcrafted out of foam, which during the process, burns away in the kiln leaving behind a one-of-a-kind terracotta copy, or replica. For the aluminium works, molten alloy is poured onto the foam original which vaporizes, leaving behind a metallic copy.
I was fascinated by the otherworldly looks of these objects – like artefacts or fragments of meteorite, they look ancient and futuristic at the same time.
I also love the presentation of the collection. The designers have made the gallery look like an archaeological dig, with treasured items resting on particle-board transport cases.

The technique behind the REPLICA collection is quite experimental.
How quickly could you move from tests to finished pieces?

We developed a technique with porcelain foam last year, so applying it to other kinds of ceramic, such as terracotta, was more about taking care of the differences in the two ceramic mediums. The metal process works quite differently, and we had to start from the beginning. Once we had samples and tests, the collection took about two months over the summer to realize.

What’s different about The Aram Gallery show from the previous showing at London Design Festival?

Our LDF show was in a disused stable in a South Kensington Mews, beautiful if not unloved. Whereas Aram is a dreamy designated show space.
Since there was more space to work with, and we had a lot of the pieces,
we wanted to show more of the materiality and experiments. So there are three areas exploring the essence and feeling of terracotta, aluminium and poly foam.

What is next for the process? Will you continue to make new objects with the method?

These processes have been exciting to experiment with and we have received a fantastic response. There are always many avenues to try so
I guess there could be more objects. We have been working with Pulpo to develop a production variant also. Otherwise, we will continue to work with many materials and processes…
so expect the unexpected as Inspector Clouzot would say!