Elke van den Hoogen

Department: Man and Activity
Website: www.studioelkedag.nl

Gestures of Craft

[WL] To revive an appreciation of traditional skills, Elke van den Hoogen has created Gestures of Craft, a series of four products that each highlight a different ‘lost art’. The minute details of watchmaking have inspired her to make a ring with a magnifying glass; in a modern take on hand-woven rattan seating she has knitted a soft stool covering; and as a tribute to the laborious precision of typesetters, she has created an iron alphabet out of nails. Finally, commemorating the archaic act of lighting gas street lights, she has created an electric lamp that can only be turned on by climbing an attached ladder. Together, her designs are a modern ode to the pre-industrial era.