tomas alonso: metals

‘metals’ by tomas alonso image © felix friedmann

london-based designer tomas alonso has conceived a series of objects commissioned by ‘vera chapter two‘ – a multi-disciplinary project that recreates a fictional character’s material and sensorial world. the fictional character is based on thirty-one photographs from a girl’s family that were found a few years ago in a second hand shop in brighton, england. from this, alonso deliberately fabricated the pieces from copper and mild steel – referencing debris that could be discovered on the sea shore. the series is produced through basic manipulations of standard industrial metal extrusions – generating function that is insinuated as opposed to dictated.

the work is directed by the written aesthetic of poetry and memory informed by ‘vera chapter two’:

‘focusing on the surroundings rather than the sweet smile of the young girl, central character in the picture, we can imagine a long pier stretching into the sea. a pier with with old wood pylons that show a mark of the water and its tides, corroding, eroding, growing a patina on that wood with the pass to time. this corrosion extends not just to the wood, but virtually any material touched by this environment.’

the series is produced through basic manipulations of standard industrial metal extrusions image © felix friedmann

the pieces are based off thirty-one photographs of a young girl discovered in a second-hand shop in brighton, england image © felix friedmann

the work references debris that might be found on the sea shore image © felix friedmann

all the work is made from either copper or mild steel image © felix friedmann

the function of each object is insinuated as opposed to dictated image © felix friedmann

‘we can imagine a long pier stretching into the sea. a pier with with old wood pylons that show a mark of the water and its tides’ image © felix friedmann

the objects are a result of a rigorous poetic interrogation image © felix friedmann