tord boontje: the lacemaker
marsden woo gallery, london
on now until july 31st, 2010

raffia lamp
all photography by phil sayer


in dutch designer tord boontje's new collection of work, he overturns conventional
expectations of what lace might be:

'with lace, all the value is invested in the labour and so it seemed a good idea to start
working with cheap materials. but also, by changing the material you can change
the references.' - tord boontje

his exhibition 'the lacemaker' at marsden woo gallery, includes lighting, furniture
and fashion pieces constructed from low-tech materials using traditional craft skills.
included is a dramatic black sofa that emerges as a large three-dimensional web-like
structure of bound and knotted aramide and dynema fibres. there are curtains composed
in a random pattern of tangled flora, along with a selection of hanging lights which are all
made from natural raffia. other smaller, more delicate works include jewelry, such as necklaces,
a hairpiece and test samples that are made from natural materials, including grass.





this body of work was influenced by boontje's invitation by the design center at the
university of philadelphia earlier this year, to respond to their historic quaker lace company
collection which was presented in an exhibition entitled 'lace in translation'. on this occasion,
boontje spent three days immersed in the center's archives and the resulting new pieces contain
quotes from the original lace articles that attracted his attention.









general exhibition view



raffia dress



raffia mirror



material samples



working samples



lace curtain


lace sofa



general exhibition view