An embarrassment of riches : rekindling desire for obsolete furniture : a exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

This exegesis tells the story of my Master of Design project, Embarrassment of Riches. During this project I have gleaned obsolete furniture pieces and operated on them to present new possibilities. This text discusses the body of work I have created in the context of three main ideas: the use of gleaning, intervention and the role played by memory in rekindling desire. I have focussed on making in a heuristic, research-through-design practice, testing ideas through making/reflecting and then developing my ideas further in new pieces. Combining this actionresearch method with bricolage has enabled me to critically self-reflect on my practice. Through this I have discovered that I can continue to design and create objects in an age of overproduction and consumption. With ecological considerations in mind I can make obsolete objects desirable (again) by encouraging people to feel intimate with them. I intervene in the objects’ interstices to suggest histories that kindle engagement and attachment. The interstice has been a rich source of inspiration, not only as site of intervention, but as site where experimentation occurs, a process by which objects are found and a space where new genres develop.