Migration Series - Shoe back, Alexa Pollmann - Design Museum, London

myminifactory

A 3D-printed creation born from Alexa Pollmann's residency at London's Design Museum in 2015. Sabine Roth modelled the design using Rhino CAD software. The Designers in Residence program at the Design Museum is a cornerstone of museum activity, providing working designers with time and space to reflect, research, and explore new ways to advance their practice. This year's Designers in Residence program invites four designers to respond to the theme 'migration'. It can be a reflection of objects or processes that imply movement, transition, shifting cultures, or mobility. - Deyan Sudjic, Design Museum Director #DesignersinResidence Artist Alexa Pollmann shares her perspective on the residency: "My key to the residency was the brief: migration challenges basic political concepts like borders, while design can discuss cultural complexities resulting from globalisation and migration. We tend to focus on problems of globalisation and migration, and the Design Museum offers a chance to look at those topics from a different angle." Pollmann's working title is Culturing an Inter-Nation. She presents four characters living in an indivicracy - a fictional variation of democracy she created. This government resembles a social network that follows its citizens as they lead a migratory life, neglecting territorial statehoods. The exhibition stages the national dance and dress, conveying details about the history of this newly emerged statehood. These cultural elements describe unity, but Pollmann wants visitors to join in and learn the national dances as part of an interactive installation - celebrating and imagining a life in motion. She collaborates with choreographers, dancers, programmers, and filmmakers to create a holistic experience. Pollmann's aim is to challenge people's notion of nationality: the 'Greek' dance sirtaki was invented for the film Zorba the Greek and is a great example of how we design national identities. Culturing an Inter-Nation aims to have a similar effect... I see this as a long-term project that will evolve over time, maybe even forging a real culture someday. For now, Pollmann is working on a graphic novel that might become a series, but her favourite idea is to see this piece performed live as a digital participatory opera.