KALEIDOSCOPE SCREEN

We were invited by the Design Exchange, Canada's Design Museum in Toronto to create and fabricate a design object using items from the IKEA catalogue costing no more than $500. THis screen was auctioned of on the night and is now part of a private art collection in Toronto.

I have always liked mirrors, especially when positioned in such a way that they enlarge and expand space without revealing one’s reflection. Here, I have used mirrors combined with a woven wood lattice to create a screen with a sense of intrigue and visual depth.
Beech is a warm material with natural beauty and integrity, but is rarely used as a decorative wood. Here the wood has been cut and reassembled with fine joinery and details to create a bespoke object.
The screen is made from wooden baby cribs, mirrors, curtains, and a few accessories. Everything you see comes from the IKEA catalogue, including the flexible hinges that are cut from a desk writing pad, and the fine rope which is unraveled from a woven closet organizer.
IKEA successfully produces small decorative objects, but their large, flat-packed items are often void of detail and so functional that they come to life only when you put your own things on them and start to use them. I wanted to create a very elegant and beautiful decorative large-scale object. Something that stands on its own.

Design and Fabrication 2012