EXHIBITION Resources 2. Slow materials

Curator: Agata Nowotny

Design and production: Grynasz Studio

Photos: Krzysztof Pacholak

Research: Anna Łyszcz

Coordination: Agata Połeć

A different kind of production is possible. It is inevitable we will need to change the pace of production! It is possible to extend the life cycle of things.

Resources 2. Slow materials is the second part of the exhibition series by Agata Nowotny, a sociologist, educator and researcher working across business and design. The curator looks at the processes of design and production of items in search of new, sustainable and responsible actions. She looks for alternatives and modern solutions that will give a chance to counteract the ecological disaster we are experiencing. This year the exhibition will focus on waste, leftovers and pollution. Though once the final stage of the lifecycle of everyday objects, it is them that the curator starts with. Quick and mass production has led to irreversible damage to the environment, leaving behind lots of rubbish decaying for hundreds and thousands of years. Swelling at a terrifying pace. Useless.

 

Is it possible to extend their lifespan? To slow down the process of their coming out of circulation? The exhibition Resources 2. Slow materials concentrates on materials produced from processed waste. Long-lasting materials, those that can be reused for production. Slow materials, an alternative to fast and disposable products.

“When I look at items, I wonder not only what they do and whether they are pretty. What I pay attention to is, above all, how they were made and what they are made of. Every form reveals the way they were made. Each material tells its story. Each thing is a certain statement. This year’s exhibition "Resources 2. Slow materials" is a kind of research, an investigation that shows materials that are used to make things. Not those obtained from natural resources, however, but those created and processed from existing or even used materials. Waste is essentially a resource of today. We have to learn how to use it,” says Agata Nowotny, the exhibition curator.

The exhibition is a backstage visit to modern production and an insight into how the production processes of materials and the products that are made from them are carried out. Some of the exhibits will include: Alexander Schul’s Substantial Chair, UAU Project's REvase vase - made entirely of recycled materials and Maciej Karpiak’s Cell acoustic panel made from recycled PET felt bottles by Marbet Style. The exhibition space designed by Grynasz Studio will be complemented by photographs by Krzysztof Pacholak. The exhibition will be continued during the Łódź Design Festival.

Agata Nowotny

Curator

A sociologist, design researcher, specialist in process design.

The curator of a series of exhibitions titled “Resources”, the aim of which is to explore the entire production process of everyday goods, to talk about the ways in which the things we surround ourselves with are created and to increase awareness of the materials. She started her factory tours in the years 2015-2016 as part of her editorial activities in the Futu magazine. She started to publish a series of texts with photographs describing production sites and the way materials are transformed into products.

Since 2018, she has been cooperating with Arena Design in Poznań and Łódź Design Festival, preparing exhibitions under the common motto “Resources”. The primary role here is played by materials and methods of production, not the final products. A feature that is common to all the exhibitions is extensive research, visits to the factories and a unique photo session showing the production sites behind the scenes. All that together provides a unique experience allowing visitors to change their perspective and get an insight into everyday objects.

Grynasz Studio

Designers of the Resources exhibition

Grynasz Studio, founded by Marta Niemywska-Grynasz and Dawid Grynasz, is a multidisciplinary team of designers, specialized in furniture, product and exhibition design. They cooperate on a regular basis with graphic designer Małgorzata Ćwiek. The team has been awarded in design contests on many occasions. Exhibited in Poland and abroad, amongst others at Expo Milano, Triennale International Exhibition Milan, Arena Design Poznań, London Design Fair or Tokyo Design Week. Experimenting with new materials and technologies, the company is eager to reach for Polish crafts and traditions.

They have made product and exhibition projects for Polish and foreign companies and institutions, including Marbet, NAP, MUJI, Fam Fara, Devo, Zaczyn, Instytut Wzornictwa Przemysłowego (Institute of Industrial Design), Polska Akcja Humanitarna (Polish Humanitarian Action) or Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Since 2018 the company has been co-creating a series of exhibitions “Resources”.

Krzysztof Pacholak

Photographer

A coordinator of photographic projects in the Society of Creative Initiatives "ę". An artistic supervisor of exhibitions and photobooks, creator of the Migawka program for young artists-photographers, tutor in such programs as Fotoprezentacje, Polis(h) Photo Lab, Polska.Doc. A curator and member of the TIFF Festival program board. He runs his own “Studio of artistic photography” in Służew Community Centre in Warsaw. He teaches ‘photographic thinking’ and helps artists carry out their projects.

He is a graduate of sociology at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences of the University of Warsaw and photography at the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava (Czech Republic).

He works as a photographer for Monocle Magazine, The New York Times, Das Magazin and others.