andrew friend: fantastic

andrew friend is a UK-based designer who is focused on designing experiences between people, technologies and their surroundings. for london design week 2010, he presents his 3-part ‘fantastic’ project which is being shown over two venues. the device for ‘disappearing at sea’ is being featured in ‘inter;alter’ at the space in between  and devices for experiencing the ‘invisible’ and ‘lightning strikes’ are displayed in the wellcome trust windows on euston road.

‘device for disappearing (at sea)’

friend’s project deals with the notion of the ‘fantastic experience’, whether it be the conscious quest to achieve one’s personal (or popular) fantasy. the fantastic has the power to engage the imagination, initiate dreams and trigger desires, excite, manipulate and confuse. ‘fantastic’ aims to explore how one can, through the production of objects and services, located in specific contexts, enable these fantasies.

device for disappearing (at sea) this device offers the individual opportunity for a safe, temporary (and dry) disappearance, experiencing an isolation seldom found on land. the one who occupies the device is absorbed into its chasm, disappearing from view, beneath the water’s surface. it examines the relationship between the know above, and the unknown / imagined world below sea level.

‘device for disappearing (at sea)’ up close

transporting the device to the sea

construction

sketches

‘device for experiencing lightning strike’ photo by hitomi kai yoda

device for experiencing lightning strike in this case, the device increases the user’s likelihood of getting struck by lightning. energy from the strike is transferred to heat which brands the user, who following the experience, is left scarred as a memory of the event

heading out to set-up photo by hitomi kai yoda

for ease of transportation, the device is modular, packing down to under 170 cm in length, (fitting within the baggage allowance of most commercial carriers) photo by hitomi kai yoda

photo by hitomi kai yoda

sketches

‘device for experiencing the invisible’ photo by hitomi kai yoda

device for experiencing the invisible the wearer for this device is placed in the center of the parabolic dish, becoming the focus point for invisible energy. in order to experience the extraordinary, the wearer must go to sites of increased radio, paranormal, or electrical activity. physically, the wearer does not feel a thing, however the knowledge that he has put himself in the right place, in the correct conditions, using the mathematically correct apparatus, may lead to the uncovering of new, previously unseen landscapes and instances emerging as a new psychological experience is realized.

photo by hitomi kai yoda sketches