Self Portrait-01 is a stool made from three hollow ceramic legs that are held together by a hand-stitched calf-leather seat. It stands as an introspective exploration into my own design identity, while being an ode to my admiration for craft, and artisanal ways of working.
During my journey as a design student, I found it difficult to be able to fully explore my own design language. I knew that I was drawn towards being a designer by way of craft, but I had not yet had the opportunity to create fully from my design identity.
In the design of Self Portrait-01, I sought to evoke gestures of craftsmanship; the touch of the artisan as an element that tells the story of the creation of this object. The elongated legs, originally carved in wood before being casted in a plaster mould, extend from the ground upwards. The seat follows the lines of the legs, coming into being with a particular unanimity that emphasizes the harmony of craftsmanship.
In this sense, this project served as a way for me to unify my interests in such a way to redesign an object that has a prominent stature in the field of design. In this work, I sought to introduce my personality as the guiding force of my design, developing a fluid dynamism that stands as its own entity.
Altogether, Self Portrait-01 stands as an object that celebrates the non-objectivity of expressive design and, while being an ode to the values of craftsmanship, suggesting the importance of artisanal ways of working in a modern era.
