february - june 2021
art direction / event concept / brand identity / copywriting / web design / UI/UX design
"SYMPOIESIS" IS A CARRIER BAG FOR ONGOINGNESS, A YOLK FOR BECOMING-WITH, FOR STAY-ING WITH THE TROUBLE OF INHERITING THE DAMAGES AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF COLONIAL AND POSTCOLONIAL NATURALCULTURAL HISTORIES IN TELLING THE TALES OF STILL POSSIBLE RECUPERATION."
- Donna J. Haraway, Staying with the Trouble. Making Kin in the Chthulucene
OUR PROJECT "SYMPOIESIS" IS AN EVENT CONCEPT DEVELOPED WITHIN THE MODUL "CONCEPT + EVENT" AS PART OF MY STUDIES IN FASHION DESIGN MANAGEMENT (B.A) AT THE AKADEMIE MODE AND DESIGN BERLIN. THE COLLABORATIVE GROUP PROJECT TOOK PLACE DURING AND AS A REACTION TO THE CORONA PANDEMIC BY DEVELOPING A NEW IMMERSIVE CONCEPT FOR VIRTUAL FASHION EVENTS. FINAL OUTCOMES WERE A DETAILED CONCEPT PRESENTATION, THE UI AND UX DESIGN FOR WEBSITE AND APP, AND THE PROJECT AND FINANCIAL PLAN.
THE PROJECT TOOK PLACE DURING THE FIRST LOCKDOWN, FORCING OUR GROUP WORK TO BE HELD ENTIRELY ONLINE (SEE THE COLLABORATIVE CLOUD ON THE NEXT SLIDE). THIS EXPERIENCE LED US TO THE STARTING POINT AND BASE OF OUR EVENT CONCEPT, QUESTIONING HOW INTERPERSONAL CONNECTIONS CAN BE MADE DIGITALLY AND HOW INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PROMOTING SUCH CONNECTIONS CAN BE DEVELOPED IN THE REALM OF FASHION. WE FOUND SOME ANSWERS AND CONCEPT IDEAS IN DONNA J. HARAWAY'S BOOK "STAYING WITH THE TROUBLE", NOT ONLY A GIVING NAME TO THE PROJECT BUT ACTING AS A GUIDING CONCEPT. „SYMPOIESIS" - BASED ON HARAWAY'S IDEA OF A COLLECTIVE - IS A SYNERGETIC AND VIRTUAL PLATFORM SHOWCASING 360° AR EXPERIENCES CALLED "ROOMS". EACH ROOM, CONCEI-VED IN A COLLABORATION OF BERLIN ARTISTS AND TALENTS, DEVELOPS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE FUSING ART INSTALLATION, PERFORMANCE, AND FASHION DESIGN.
THE RESULT IS A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL EVENT CONCEPT WITH A LOW ECOLOGI-CAL FOOTPRINT, IN WHICH KNOWLEDGE AND AESTHETIC RESOURCES ARE EXCHANGED WITHIN THE ARTISTS AND VIEWERS. "SYMPOIESIS" SHOWS TO WHAT EXTENT CONDENSED ARTISTIC SYNERGIES CAN BE EXPERIENCED BOTH DIGITALLY AND DIRECTLY.
Concept, planning, and visualisation were developed by Stefan Brunner, Melenie Hecker, Gal Sherizly, and Sarah Luisa Kuhlewind. Inspirational images by: hito steyrl (2), studio olafur eliasson (4,5), tomas saraceno (6)