The work of the new-born Berlin-based design studio Other Objects is what happens when the ideas of traditional Asian craft and contemporary European design interbreed under the hands of a creative artist-and-architect team. In this case, Indonesian/Austrian artist Wie-yi T. and Japanese/German architect Simon Takasaki are the ones doing the breeding.
Describing their debut furniture designs as “minimalist” wouldn’t be exactly true – their work revisits the basics, while rendering those basics bold. That’s where the infusion of traditional Asian practices come in.
Their polygon-shaped Wooden Batik Table is influenced by the ancient Japanese arts of origami and woodcarving. The sunken grooves into its wooden top offer it another dimension, forming niches for pens and smart phones. The Batik Stool, also made out of a simple steel frame, is brought to life by the seat’s original print designs, which are imbued with the Batik technique found in Wie-yi’s Indonesian roots.
“These pieces don’t only serve as their original function as a stool and a table, but they’re also art objects to be embedded into the daily lives of a living room,” explains Wie-yi.
The Indonesian Batik technique of wax-resist dyeing can also be found in the designs of their textile product range, where the adjectives ‘abstract,’ and ‘harmonious’ can coexist.
Head over to Other Objects.