The whisk brooms from my crafts research has found its new home in the Berlin State Museum collection. In conjunction to the upcoming exhibition All Hands On: Basketry, the brooms will be showcased along with the impressions of my past learning experiences with Carlos Fontales (ES), Serfenta (PL), Margrit Linder (CH) and in Borneo.
From left to right: Brooms techniques found from Habkern, Uri and Murcia. Made by Evey Kwong.
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Christian Krug
During the pandemic, i contributed an essay on cycloid interlacing / looping for a book, U-JOINTS – Taxonomy of Connections. Finally, after years of uncertainties, the book will be launched this Summer.
Synopsis: The book is an encyclopedic publication that looks at human history through its details, and invites readers to see their built environment in whole new ways. Weighing in at more than 900 pages, this is the most far-reaching book ever published on the topic of joints. Comprehensive and interdisciplinary, the book features technical information about joinery as well as stories and commentaries.
The heart of the book is a vast taxonomy of more than 1300 joints, organized into six main chapters: Basic fasteners, Mechanical joints, Knits and Knots, Wood joints, Adhesives, and Fused joints.
The book was compiled by a team of more than 50 authors, photographers, illustrators, researchers, experts, scholars, scientists and story tellers, enthusiasts, users, designers, architects, artists, writers and critics and makers. Together we hope to bring the many fascinating facets of joints to life.
Simultaneous to the book launch, U-JOINTS has invited members of Basketclub to be part of Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale this summer, May 22 – Sept 4 2022. 🌳
Above exhibiting object: How to wrap five eggs. Material: Bell wires.
Kicking off 2022 with my second international group show, Slanted/Enchanted, an exhibition that celebrates improvised production methods.
While preparing for this exhibition, I learned about the value of my medium of practice and the importance of continuous creative experimentation. To me, it is a challenge to unlearn, (re)invent and transform what I’ve learned the last years from my teachers.
Here is to a lifetime journey of learning and explorations!⚡️
This event takes place in conjunction to the Design Week Toronto.
Organisation by Jamie Wolfond and Rebecca Collins
📸 by Sean Davidson
Graphic design by Soleil Singh
The whisk brooms from my research will be archived in the Berlin State Museum collection, and exhibited at an upcoming exhibition in 2022 (to be announced).
Both objects were originally taught to me by Carlos Fontales (Spain) and Margrit Linder (Switzerland). I am proud and humbled to be part of a woven community that allows and accepts my interests to learn their local crafts, as this might not be culturally appropriate to do so in certain colonised countries around the world.
These days, with traveling made so convenient and at low costs, certain parts of the world (also in the west) are even so, more sensitive towards the invasion of tourists and towards the ownership of their cultural heritage.
It is an experience which I try not to take it to heart, but to relate to the inferiority against their colonial past.
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🕯
A series of improvised torches using available and found plant materials. Going back before the invention of candles, the earliest form of artificial lighting used to illuminate an area were campfires or torches. Although it is convenient for us to acquire candles today, we often forget we are surrounded by materials which could be improvised to light up fire.
1. Torch made of damar gum wrapped in palm leaves.
2. Torch made of resin, bamboo leaves tied with raffia.
3. Torch composed of Zacaton roots soaked in fat or wax.
#materiality #lettherebelight #functionalobjects #resiliency #plantfibre #materialculture
HOW&WOW BASK IT! – FIVE SELECTED WORKS EXHIBITED
An initiative of Crafts Council Nederland in collaboration with Adrianus Kundert, designer and co-founder of Basketclub.
HOW&WOW BASK IT! – or ‘treasure it’ – will transport you into the world of basketry and reveal the numerous aspects of three dimensional weaving: the specific characteristics, creative techniques, new implementations, cultural exchange and nature conservation. Basket weaving is a 3D-construction technique allowing the maker to create a three dimensional shape using their own hands and just a few tools. The craft, and also its importance, have undergone changes through time. Few people realise that all woven baskets, furniture and accessories are still made by hand, including those sold by the well-known retail chains. Lack of appreciation for this time consuming technique has resulted in it now rarely being practiced in the western world. It is particularly important to focus on the unique characteristics of hand made products in the current era of globalisation, digitalisation and robotics. Craftsmanship is satisfying work, makers are in control of what they produce and are able to express their individuality. It is no surprise that the online community Basketclub arose during the pandemic.
Participants: Adrianus Kundert, Amandine David, Anaïs Godefroy, Bertjan Pot, Carole Baijings, Chris Kabel, Christopher Specce, Clara von Zweigbergk, dach&zephir, Earnest Studio, Emma Cogné, Esmé Hofman, Esther van Schuylenbergh, Evey Kwong, Fango, Garth Roberts, GREATMINOR, Hella Jongerius, Hsiao Fong, Ief Spincemaille, Ineke van der Sommen, Jamie Wolfond, Joris van Tubergen, Léa Mazy, Lenny Stöpp, Lois Walpole, LouCruard, Mae Engelgeer & Ames, Mandenmakerij de Mythe, Michael Schoner, Nathalie Miebach, Nationaal Vlechtmuseum Noordwolde, Rebecca Collins, Rein Reitsma, Renaud Defrancesco & Anne Bertoncini, Rik van Veen, Rob van Hernen, Samy Rio, SCMP DESIGN OFFICE, Sebastian Herkner, Shigeki Fujishiro, Simone Post, Studio Satël, Tamara Orjola, Thomas van der Sman and Yuki Hidano.
Team Crafts Council Nederland: Marion Poortvliet, Willemien Ippel & Guusje Heesakkers
Curator: Adrianus Kundert
Graphic design: Daniël Maarlevel
Photo credit: Fan Liao
HOW&WOW BASK IT! is financially made possible by Creative Industries Fund NL, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and Dedon.
BASKETCLUB x CRAFTS COUNCIL NEDERLAND / BRIEF 🔌
Material: Bell wires
How to wrap 5 eggs (haywirely), quoting the renowned Hideyuki Oka’s traditional Japanese packaging book.
Occasionally, I like doing things that are against my will, for example the Macramé knots. I often like playing with the limits of plasticity / elasticity of a material against a technique, in this case Macramé is usually implemented on soft materials.
As a result, my woven ode to Japanese packaging.
#newmaterials #newfunction
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🎭
Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. A replicated mask becomes mere decorative effort and somewhat feels senseless unless it serves a culturally represented purpose. While making this mask, i began contemplating possibilities of introducing new forms which have not been represented by a particular culture. Can a new form and function (in this case a performative hand fan) be invented while keeping the use of natural materials?
View more works here.
#newfunction #performative #handfan
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🌞
Inspired by the Japanese kagome weaving which bamboo is typically used for plaits construction, new material such as bronze wires are used to bind and sew the the rim and plaits together. The stripes are split with an improvised lo-tech device constructed with repurposed plywoods.
Works from all participants can be seen here.
#newmaterial #hexagonalplaiting
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🚲
A reinterpretation of Bornean burden basket (Bekang) using cycloid open weave (Kerawang).
Traditionally, the basket is made using rattan. Cycloid is a technique I’ve been documenting and analyzing since my research trip in Borneo in 2020.
While contemplating the reinterpretation, I question the feasibility of the original material (rattan), fitting to the functional roots. I felt it was not appropriate to reconstruct any artifact without prior deeper consideration on the material culture origin and its use.
The basket is made out of curiosity with how far the technique could be expanded with its boundaries with the use of new materials and at the same time new technical parameters.
#newmaterials #materialculture #cycloidinterlacing #looping #borneo
BEKANG FROM BORNEO
Image credit to British Museum: Bekang Dechur by Kelabit ethnic group
PLAYTIME
Quad node weaving, compressable. Form inspired by Alison Martin’s work.
•
#lattice #knot #geometry
RICE CULTURES BY PLAIT
While looking at these unique rice containers, i’ve figured that human evolution has hinted teaching is not essential for people to learn to make effective tools. The results counter established views about how human tools and technologies come to improve from generation to generation and point to an explanation for the extraordinary success of humans as a species. Although teaching is useful, it is not essential for cultural progress because people can use reasoning and reverse engineering of existing items to work out how to make tools.
The capacity to improve the efficacy of tools and technologies from generation to generation, known as cumulative culture, is unique to humans and has driven our ecological success. It has enabled us to inhabit the toughest and most remote regions on Earth and even have a permanent base in space. The way in which our cumulative culture has boomed compared to other species however remains a mystery.
While a knowledgeable teacher clearly brings important advantages, allowing students to independently create and design is more the crucial.
1 - Doll made of palm leaf, origin: Maluku, Indonesia
2 - Bottle made of rattan, origin: Madang, Papua New Guinea
3 - Pouch made of reed, origin: Palugama, Sri Lanka
4 - Bird-shaped pouch made of rush by Kenyah, origin: Sarawak
5 - Bottle made of palm leaf by Kenyah, origin: Sarawak
6 - Pouch made of palm leaf, origin: Rambah, Sumatra
Credit images to British Museum
WINDMILL KNOTS
Further play with square, pentagon and hexagonal construction of knots with Maori windmill knots. All materials thanks to Forces in Translation.
Forces in Translation works in the intersection of basketry, mathematics and anthropology. It is a Royal Society/Apex funded project, based in the UK.
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🍭
Having so much fun making this! A further exploration with paper loops. This technique is inspired by Alison Martin's works.
•
#knots #coiling #fibonacci #geometry
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF ❄️
My first entry as a contribution to the club. Basketclub is an incredible group of designers and artists who use basket weaving techniques to experiment with materials and contexts.
Second image from the left, top: The Trustees of the British Museum. Snow goggles made by the Inuit / 1613699853, bottom: L.T. Burwash / Library and Archives Canada / PA-099362
ONGOING: CYCLOID SIDE-TO-SIDE
The origin of this technique derives from the Bornean ‘Bekang Kerawang’, a burden basket typically used for carrying agricultural harvest and game. As a presumption, this technique is introduced based on the needs to construct a rigid (non-organic in form) quadrilateral plane, suited to use them as frames to construct a cuboid container.
ONGOING: CYCLOID SIDE-TO-SIDE
Currently, a guest researcher at Forces in Translation: Basketry, Math, Anthropology
THE PRE-NOMADS
“Angkat Rumah” (lifting houses) was a form of physical relocation that was a common tradition practiced in kampungs as houses predominately consisted of wood. The structure of the house which is built with pillars makes it easy to be carried around. Depending on the size of the house, bamboo sticks are tied to the beam of the house to help lift it.
In the Malay and Filipino language there’s even its own term, ‘gotong royong’ and ‘bayanihan’, meaning the “community spirit”.
This tradition also fostered a sense of community, and originated when villagers wanted to move closer to their friends and family. Due to the increase of brick houses, it became easier to demolish than relocate. Therefore, this tradition has declined in popularity and is rarely practiced today.
TRADITIONAL WOODEN WHISK
The Spreewalders are sometimes superstitious and also practical. So it shows here with the wooden whisk. When the Christmas tree stands in the room for a long time, the wood of the trunk hardens and dries. Whorls were now carved from the ends of the sacred tree by shortening the branches and sawing off the whisk stick to the desired length. A new kitchen mixer is ready. Traditionally, these whorls were made to over 1 meter long.
Source CC-BY-NC-SA @ Museum des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz
WEAVE WATER
These are Marshall Islands stick charts and they were made using the midrib of coconut fronds. The Marshall Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean within a region of islands known as Micronesia. Historically, the Malayo-Polynesian seafaring population from this part of the world used the stick chart as a kind of navigational device. But what the map visualises are not contours of land surface. Instead, the curving intersecting lines, supported by a skeletal framework, represent major ocean swells as well as how the location of islands, represented here with seashells, would change those wave patterns. Unlike how we rely on our Google map or Waze while driving on the road today, the charts were not used or consulted during a voyage. Instead, the information was memorised before embarking on a journey by an expert sailor who was trained to sense how the outrigger canoe would roll over the swell. Kinda like how Google map was used, well, before the advent of smartphones.
NEW WORK: MUZZLE FOR CATTLE
Weaving origin: Portugal
Material: Esparto
Length of cord: 6m
How to hypnotise a chicken
Animals can be hypnotised in direct relation to their ability to concentrate their attention. While there seem to be no obvious reason for doing this, other than sheer entertainment value, the technique is in fact useful for farmers who need to slaughter a chicken, but do not have assistance at hand. It has also been said that the birds being relaxed beforehand, make more tender, tasty meat.
WARAZAN: JAPANESE DATA STORAGE
With special knotted cords, data were stored until the 20th century on the Japanese Ryukyu Islands. With rice straw, nodes were arranged according to a certain system and represent quantities in the decimal system. This made it easy to record information without knowing the characters.
A similar method is also known by the Inca Empire. There, the cords (Quipu) were used for records in the administration, with which religious, chronological and statistical data were stored. For bookkeeping, especially the understanding of the individual calculation steps and to make sense for the intermediate results.
Artefact from Okinawa, 1930
Suquamish basketmaker, Ed Carriere explaining and performing the lost art of clam basketmaking.
A non-traditional woven sculpture teaching method by Artist Nathalie Miebach based on weather data collection.
THE ANCESTRAL FOOD OF CHINA
“One layer of salt, one layer of fish.
All fish overlap and intertwine with each other.
According to tradition, fish heads are placed counterclockwise.
This is to show respect to customers.”
THE HUNTER-GATHERER CULTURE
The Matagi tribes are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. Because of the geographical conditions, the tribes had to hunt for survival. Their lifes are sustained through hunting, firing fields, and making wooden and basketry objects.
With the introduction of guns in the 20th century, the need for group hunting for bear has diminished, leading to a decline in Matagi culture.
MUZZLES FOR CATTLE
These muzzles would be fitted to cattle to prevent grazing when crossing fields with crops. The bentwood model is a particularly well made and pleasing object and probably less irritating for the cow or bull to wear than the rope one.
Explore book: The Hard Life by Jasper Morrison
WORKING WITH REDUCTION
Japanese chopstick rests
Source: Takayuki Shimizu
THE MESOPOTAMIAN MARSHES OF IRAQ
The photos are a fascinating account of the lives of indigenous ‘Marsh Arabs’, whose lives in the marshes of Iraq were devastated by large scale draining of their homeland by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s. After the fall of the regime the arid marshes were re-flooded when people broke through the embankments holding back the water. The return of the plants, animals and community to this unique landscape speaks of the resilience of people and environment to respond and be restored after ecological destruction and crisis.
First constructed in the marshes of what is now southern Iraq over 5,000 years ago, the ‘mudhif‘, the huge parabolic arched construction, is a unique local meeting place constructed entirely of reeds, straw and other natural materials.
KENYAH ANCESTRAL MUSIC
The sape' is a traditional lute of the Orang Ulu. These indigenous ethnic are mainly the “Kayan” and “Kenyah” groups who settle near the rivers of Central Borneo. They are known for their traditional musical instrument, jatung utang (wooden xylophone), sape' (a type of guitar), sape' bio (single stringed bass), lutong (a four- to six-string bamboo tube zither) and keringut (nose flute).
Listen to Matthew Ngau Jau
WOVEN BAMBOO HOUSE — TRADITIONAL GREEN BUILDING
We study material folk-cultures not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine.
The film was captured in Ethiopia by Gordon Clarke of the Institute of Nomadic Architecture.
Link
JAPANESE FOLK CULTURE
Extremely fascinating functional artifact:
Insect cage made in cycad leaf
via aguni archive
ON WEAVING A BASKET
“The world of our experience is, indeed, continually and endlessly coming into being around us as we weave. If it has a surface, it is like the surface of the basket: it has no ‘inside’ or ‘outside’. Mind is not above, nor nature below; rather, if we ask where mind is, it is in the weave of the surface itself. And it is within this weave that our projects of making, whatever they may be, are formulated and come to fruition. Only if we are capable of weaving, only then can we make.” — Tim Ingold
Listen to the sounds:
The Growth of Artifacts by Yannick Dauby
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
The blog post section claims no possession for the materials use, nor for the purpose of commercial use. Some of the contents are either depicted with the knowledge of the owner, or without, due to the unaccessible origin of the information. If you are the owner of the content, and forbid sharing, please do not hesitate to contact me. In any case, your content will always be credited, direct or indirectly.
The whisk brooms from my crafts research has found its new home in the Berlin State Museum collection. In conjunction to the upcoming exhibition All Hands On: Basketry, the brooms will be showcased along with the impressions of my past learning experiences with Carlos Fontales (ES), Serfenta (PL), Margrit Linder (CH) and in Borneo.
From left to right: Brooms techniques found from Habkern, Uri and Murcia. Made by Evey Kwong.
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Christian Krug
During the pandemic, i contributed an essay on cycloid interlacing / looping for a book, U-JOINTS – Taxonomy of Connections. Finally, after years of uncertainties, the book will be launched this Summer.
Synopsis: The book is an encyclopedic publication that looks at human history through its details, and invites readers to see their built environment in whole new ways. Weighing in at more than 900 pages, this is the most far-reaching book ever published on the topic of joints. Comprehensive and interdisciplinary, the book features technical information about joinery as well as stories and commentaries.
The heart of the book is a vast taxonomy of more than 1300 joints, organized into six main chapters: Basic fasteners, Mechanical joints, Knits and Knots, Wood joints, Adhesives, and Fused joints.
The book was compiled by a team of more than 50 authors, photographers, illustrators, researchers, experts, scholars, scientists and story tellers, enthusiasts, users, designers, architects, artists, writers and critics and makers. Together we hope to bring the many fascinating facets of joints to life.
Above exhibiting object: How to wrap five eggs. Material: Bell wires.
Simultaneous to the book launch, U-JOINTS has invited members of Basketclub to be part of Fiskars Village Art & Design Biennale this summer, May 22 – Sept 4 2022. 🌳
Kicking off 2022 with my second international group show, Slanted/Enchanted, an exhibition that celebrates improvised production methods.
While preparing for this exhibition, I learned about the value of my medium of practice and the importance of continuous creative experimentation. To me, it is a challenge to unlearn, (re)invent and transform what I’ve learned the last years from my teachers.
Here is to a lifetime journey of learning and explorations!
This event takes place in conjunction to the Design Week Toronto.
Organisation thanks to Jamie Wolfond and Rebecca Collins, 📸 Sean Davidson and graphic design by Soleil Singh.
The whisk brooms from my research will be archived in the Berlin State Museum collection, and exhibited at an upcoming exhibition in 2022 (to be announced).
Both objects were originally taught to me by Carlos Fontales (Spain) and Margrit Linder (Switzerland). I am proud and humbled to be part of a woven community that allows and accepts my interests to learn their local crafts, as this might not be culturally appropriate to do so in certain colonised countries around the world.
These days, with traveling made so convenient and at low costs, certain parts of the world (also in the west) are even so, more sensitive towards the invasion of tourists and towards the ownership of their cultural heritage.
It is an experience which I try not to take it to heart, but to relate to the inferiority against their colonial past.
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🕯
A series of improvised torches using available and found plant materials. Going back before the invention of candles, the earliest form of artificial lighting used to illuminate an area were campfires or torches. Although it is convenient for us to acquire candles today, we often forget we are surrounded by materials which could be improvised to light up fire.
1. Torch made of damar gum wrapped in palm leaves
2. Torch made of resin, bamboo leaves tied with raffia
3. Torch composed of Zacaton roots soaked in fat or wax
#materiality #lettherebelight #functionalobjects #resiliency #plantfibre #materialculture
HOW&WOW BASK IT! – FIVE SELECTED WORKS EXHIBITED
An initiative of Crafts Council Nederland in collaboration with Adrianus Kundert, designer and co-founder of Basketclub.
HOW&WOW BASK IT! – or ‘treasure it’ – will transport you into the world of basketry and reveal the numerous aspects of three dimensional weaving: the specific characteristics, creative techniques, new implementations, cultural exchange and nature conservation. Basket weaving is a 3D-construction technique allowing the maker to create a three dimensional shape using their own hands and just a few tools. The craft, and also its importance, have undergone changes through time. Few people realise that all woven baskets, furniture and accessories are still made by hand, including those sold by the well-known retail chains. Lack of appreciation for this time consuming technique has resulted in it now rarely being practiced in the western world. It is particularly important to focus on the unique characteristics of hand made products in the current era of globalisation, digitalisation and robotics. Craftsmanship is satisfying work, makers are in control of what they produce and are able to express their individuality. It is no surprise that the online community Basketclub arose during the pandemic.
Participants: Adrianus Kundert, Amandine David, Anaïs Godefroy, Bertjan Pot, Carole Baijings, Chris Kabel, Christopher Specce, Clara von Zweigbergk, dach&zephir, Earnest Studio, Emma Cogné, Esmé Hofman, Esther van Schuylenbergh, Evey Kwong, Fango, Garth Roberts, GREATMINOR, Hella Jongerius, Hsiao Fong, Ief Spincemaille, Ineke van der Sommen, Jamie Wolfond, Joris van Tubergen, Léa Mazy, Lenny Stöpp, Lois Walpole, LouCruard, Mae Engelgeer & Ames, Mandenmakerij de Mythe, Michael Schoner, Nathalie Miebach, Nationaal Vlechtmuseum Noordwolde, Rebecca Collins, Rein Reitsma, Renaud Defrancesco & Anne Bertoncini, Rik van Veen, Rob van Hernen, Samy Rio, SCMP DESIGN OFFICE, Sebastian Herkner, Shigeki Fujishiro, Simone Post, Studio Satël, Tamara Orjola, Thomas van der Sman and Yuki Hidano.
Team Crafts Council Nederland: Marion Poortvliet, Willemien Ippel & Guusje Heesakkers
Curator: Adrianus Kundert
Graphic design: Daniël Maarlevel
Photo credit: Fan Liao
HOW&WOW BASK IT! is financially made possible by Creative Industries Fund NL, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and Dedon.
BASKETCLUB x CRAFTS COUNCIL NEDERLAND / BRIEF 🔌
Material: Bell wires
How to wrap 5 eggs (haywirely), quoting the renowned Hideyuki Oka’s traditional Japanese packaging book.
Occasionally, I like doing things that are against my will, for example the Macramé knots. I often like playing with the limits of plasticity / elasticity of a material against a technique, in this case Macramé is usually implemented on soft materials.
As a result, my woven ode to Japanese packaging.
#newmaterials #newfunction
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🎭
Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, as well as in the performing arts and for entertainment. A replicated mask becomes mere decorative effort and somewhat feels senseless unless it serves a culturally represented purpose. While making this mask, i began contemplating possibilities of introducing new forms which have not been represented by a particular culture. Can a new form and function (in this case a performative hand fan) be invented while keeping the use of natural materials?
View more works here.
#newfunction #performative #handfan
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🌞
Inspired by the Japanese kagome weaving which bamboo is typically used for plaits construction, new material such as bronze wires are used to bind and sew the the rim and plaits together. The stripes are split with an improvised lo-tech device constructed with repurposed plywoods.
Works from all participants can be seen here.
#newmaterial #hexagonalplaiting
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF 🚲
A reinterpretation of Bornean burden basket (Bekang) using cycloid open weave( Kerawang).
Traditionally, the basket is made using rattan. Cycloid is a technique I’ve been documenting and analyzing since my research trip in Borneo in 2020.
While contemplating the reinterpretation, I question the feasibility of the original material (rattan), fitting to the functional roots. I felt it was not appropriate to reconstruct any artifact without prior deeper consideration on the material culture origin and its use.
The basket is made out of curiosity with how far the technique could be expanded with its boundaries with the use of new materials and at the same time new technical parameters.
#newmaterials #materialculture #cycloidinterlacing #looping #borneo
BEKANG FROM BORNEO
Image credit to British Museum: Bekang Dechur by Kelabit ethnic group
WINDMILL KNOTS
Further play with square, pentagon and hexagonal construction of knots with Maori windmill knots. All materials thanks to Forces in Translation.
Forces in Translation works in the intersection of basketry, mathematics and anthropology. It is a Royal Society/Apex funded project, based in the UK.
RICE CONTAINERS BY PLAIT
While looking at these unique rice containers, i’ve figured that human evolution has hinted teaching is not essential for people to learn to make effective tools. The results counter established views about how human tools and technologies come to improve from generation to generation and point to an explanation for the extraordinary success of humans as a species. Although teaching is useful, it is not essential for cultural progress because people can use reasoning and reverse engineering of existing items to work out how to make tools.
The capacity to improve the efficacy of tools and technologies from generation to generation, known as cumulative culture, is unique to humans and has driven our ecological success. It has enabled us to inhabit the toughest and most remote regions on Earth and even have a permanent base in space. The way in which our cumulative culture has boomed compared to other species however remains a mystery.
While a knowledgeable teacher clearly brings important advantages, allowing students to independently create and design is more the crucial.
1 - Doll made of palm leaf, origin: Maluku, Indonesia
2 - Bottle made of rattan, origin: Madang, Papua New Guinea
3 - Pouch made of reed, origin: Palugama, Sri Lanka
4 - Bird-shaped pouch made of rush by Kenyah, origin: Sarawak
5 - Bottle made of palm leaf by Kenyah, origin: Sarawak
6 - Pouch made of palm leaf, origin: Rambah, Sumatra
Credit images to British Museum
BASKETCLUB / Brief 🍭
Having so much fun making this! A further exploration with paper loops. This technique is inspired by Alison Martin's works.
•
#knots #coiling #fibonacci #geometry
BASKETCLUB / BRIEF ❄️
My first entry as a contribution to the club. Basketclub is an incredible group of designers and artists who use basket weaving techniques to experiment with materials and contexts.
-
Second image from the left, top: The Trustees of the British Museum. Snow goggles made by the Inuit / 1613699853, bottom: L.T. Burwash / Library and Archives Canada / PA-099362
ONGOING: CYCLOID SIDE-TO-SIDE
The origin of this technique derives from the Bornean ‘Bekang Kerawang’, a burden basket typically used for carrying agricultural harvest and game. As a presumption, this technique is introduced based on the needs to construct a rigid (non-organic in form) quadrilateral plane, suited to use them as frames to construct a cuboid container.
ONGOING: CYCLOID SIDE-TO-SIDE
Currently, a guest researcher at Forces in Translation: Basketry, Math, Anthropology
PLAYTIME
Quad node weaving, compressable. Technique from Alison Martin.
•
#lattice #knot #geometry
THE PRE-NOMADS
“Angkat Rumah” (lifting houses) was a form of physical relocation that was a common tradition practiced in kampungs as houses predominately consisted of wood. The structure of the house which is built with pillars makes it easy to be carried around. Depending on the size of the house, bamboo sticks are tied to the beam of the house to help lift it.
In the Malay and Filipino language there’s even its own term, ‘gotong royong’ and ‘bayanihan’, meaning the “community spirit”.
This tradition also fostered a sense of community, and originated when villagers wanted to move closer to their friends and family. Due to the increase of brick houses, it became easier to demolish than relocate. Therefore, this tradition has declined in popularity and is rarely practiced today.
TRADITIONAL WOODEN WHISK
The Spreewalders are sometimes superstitious and also practical. So it shows here with the wooden whisk. When the Christmas tree stands in the room for a long time, the wood of the trunk hardens and dries. Whorls were now carved from the ends of the sacred tree by shortening the branches and sawing off the whisk stick to the desired length. A new kitchen mixer is ready. Traditionally, these whorls were made to over 1 meter long. Source CC-BY-NC-SA @ Museum des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz
WEAVE WATER
These are Marshall Islands stick charts and they were made using the midrib of coconut fronds. The Marshall Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean within a region of islands known as Micronesia. Historically, the Malayo-Polynesian seafaring population from this part of the world used the stick chart as a kind of navigational device. But what the map visualises are not contours of land surface. Instead, the curving intersecting lines, supported by a skeletal framework, represent major ocean swells as well as how the location of islands, represented here with seashells, would change those wave patterns. Unlike how we rely on our Google map or Waze while driving on the road today, the charts were not used or consulted during a voyage. Instead, the information was memorised before embarking on a journey by an expert sailor who was trained to sense how the outrigger canoe would roll over the swell. Kinda like how Google map was used, well, before the advent of smartphones.
NEW WORK: MUZZLE FOR CATTLE
Weaving origin: Portugal
Material: Esparto
Length of cord: 6m
NORTHERN LUZON HATS
Link
Pictures credit to Penn Museum
How to hypnotise a chicken
Animals can be hypnotised in direct relation to their ability to concentrate their attention. While there seem to be no obvious reason for doing this, other than sheer entertainment value, the technique is in fact useful for farmers who need to slaughter a chicken, but do not have assistance at hand. It has also been said that the birds being relaxed beforehand, make more tender, tasty meat.
WARAZAN: JAPANESE DATA STORAGE
With special knotted cords, data were stored until the 20th century on the Japanese Ryukyu Islands. With rice straw, nodes were arranged according to a certain system and represent quantities in the decimal system. This made it easy to record information without knowing the characters.
A similar method is also known by the Inca Empire. There, the cords (Quipu) were used for records in the administration, with which religious, chronological and statistical data were stored. For bookkeeping, especially the understanding of the individual calculation steps and to make sense for the intermediate results.
Artefact from Okinawa, 1930
Suquamish basketmaker, Ed Carriere explaining and performing the lost art of clam basketmaking.
A non-traditional woven sculpture teaching method by Artist Nathalie Miebach based on weather data collection.
THE ANCESTRAL FOOD OF CHINA
“One layer of salt, one layer of fish.
All fish overlap and intertwine with each other.
According to tradition, fish heads are placed counterclockwise.
This is to show respect to customers.”
THE HUNTER-GATHERER CULTURE
The Matagi tribes are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. Because of the geographical conditions, the tribes had to hunt for survival. Their lifes are sustained through hunting, firing fields, and making wooden and basketry objects.
With the introduction of guns in the 20th century, the need for group hunting for bear has diminished, leading to a decline in Matagi culture.
MUZZLES FOR CATTLE
These muzzles would be fitted to cattle to prevent grazing when crossing fields with crops. The bentwood model is a particularly well made and pleasing object and probably less irritating for the cow or bull to wear than the rope one.
Explore book: The Hard Life by Jasper Morrison
WORKING WITH REDUCTION
Japanese chopstick rests
Source: Takayuki Shimizu
THE MESOPOTAMIAN MARSHES OF IRAQ
The photos are a fascinating account of the lives of indigenous ‘Marsh Arabs’, whose lives in the marshes of Iraq were devastated by large scale draining of their homeland by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s. After the fall of the regime the arid marshes were re-flooded when people broke through the embankments holding back the water. The return of the plants, animals and community to this unique landscape speaks of the resilience of people and environment to respond and be restored after ecological destruction and crisis.
First constructed in the marshes of what is now southern Iraq over 5,000 years ago, the ‘mudhif‘, the huge parabolic arched construction, is a unique local meeting place constructed entirely of reeds, straw and other natural materials.
KENYAH ANCESTRAL MUSIC
The sape' is a traditional lute of the Orang Ulu. These indigenous ethnic are mainly the “Kayan” and “Kenyah” groups who settle near the rivers of Central Borneo. They are known for their traditional musical instrument, jatung utang (wooden xylophone), sape' (a type of guitar), sape' bio (single stringed bass), lutong (a four- to six-string bamboo tube zither) and keringut (nose flute).
Listen to Matthew Ngau Jau
WOVEN BAMBOO HOUSE — TRADITIONAL GREEN BUILDING
We study material folk-cultures not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine.
The film was captured in Ethiopia by Gordon Clarke of the Institute of Nomadic Architecture.
Link
JAPANESE FOLK CULTURE
Extremely fascinating functional artifact:
Insect cage made in cycad leaf
via aguni archive
ON WEAVING A BASKET
“The world of our experience is, indeed, continually and endlessly coming into being around us as we weave. If it has a surface, it is like the surface of the basket: it has no ‘inside’ or ‘outside’. Mind is not above, nor nature below; rather, if we ask where mind is, it is in the weave of the surface itself. And it is within this weave that our projects of making, whatever they may be, are formulated and come to fruition. Only if we are capable of weaving, only then can we make.” — Tim Ingold
Listen to the sounds:
The Growth of Artifacts by Yannick Dauby
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