‘surrealistika’ all images © of IKEA and barbican

swedish furniture brand IKEA brings a kitchen sculpture created with their home furnishing products to the barbican centre in london. entitled ‘surrealistika’, the installation incorporates the beauty of the silver birch tree intertwined with elements of an everyday kitchen. the piece is meant to depict a surreal vision of the future, when environmental concerns will be even more prominent at the core of kitchen design.

'SURREALISTIKA'   surreal kitchen by IKEA

the silver birch tree was chosen because it has always been an influential source for swedish designers and artists, including carl larsson who famously painted ‘breakfast under the big birch’. it is also a wood which is believed to have mystical qualities of its own, protecting people against evil spirits as well as symbolizing love and fertility.

'SURREALISTIKA'   surreal kitchen by IKEA top view

‘surrealistika’ was born out of our belief that without creative thinking, there would be no inspirational design. creativity sits at the core of our approach to product design as everyday, we must challenge ourselves to come up with even better ideas that suit our production capabilities as well as our customers’ needs, tastes and budgets. and never at the expense of good quality, inspirational design and the environment. we chose to depict a kitchen as not only a place where we spend nearly a month of our time every year, it’s where we can make a big difference in terms of the impact our lifestyles at home have on the environment.(…) through ‘surrealistika’ we want to encourage people to think about the sustainable way of life, especially when it comes to recycling their household waste and saving water and energy.’ – anna crona, marketing director for IKEA UK & ireland

'SURREALISTIKA'   surreal kitchen by IKEA up close look of the appliances up in the tree

‘surrealistika’ is part of the barbican centre’s ‘surreal house exhibition‘ and is set to unveil august 12th, 2010 at which time, IKEA will host a debate discussing the future of kitchens.

'SURREALISTIKA'   surreal kitchen by IKEA general view

'SURREALISTIKA'   surreal kitchen by IKEA lit by night