Nostalgia; going forward?
May 13, 2010 Inspiration, Lydia
I have noticed… perhaps due to my dissertation being centered around tracing childhood memories and adult introspection… that ‘nostalgia’ has become a massive part of our visual future. Carol Mavor, in her stunning theoretical study ‘Reading Boyishly’, rescues nostalgia from an idealised cliche, and postulates that is it really about the notion of home, comfort and Heimlich (Freud’s familiar).
In the light of my thesis and by reading childhood memories as future projections, rather than past introjections, i can suddenly see this ‘home’ feeling everywhere… and i like it.
Traces of a past, subjective fragments and materials that connote a feeling of ‘home’ seem to have formed an established ‘visual’; it is naive, the fabrics are soft, aged, recycled. Designs are simplistic, minimalistic even, embracing the future yet through the past.
I love this Corsage straw hat (ASOS), it looks like summer, impractical decadence and country morale.
This is the book cover of ‘Recycled Home’ by Mark and Sally Bailey (check out their project: http://www.baileyshomeandgarden.com) – they own a warehouse project and workshop/farm that specializes in giving new life to old objects imported from France. They make concrete and glass seem warm for the home.
This paper alarm clock (http://joonjung.com/category/portfolio/) perfectly encapsulates what i mean about fusing delicate fabrics with functionality. The hybridity of soft paper with wires is a nice contrast.
Lace and socks (Kron Kron S/S 10 collection) signify, for me, home. Childhood and naivety. Topshop are rinsing lace at the moment so contrasting it with less contrived fabrics dilutes the disposable nature of this trend boom. And socks, well, they’ve always rocked (especially with open toe)
This cloud stool is amazing; modern, sleek and covetable it genuinely looks comfy but still not ‘twee’… nostalgia and fantasy brought into life. (http://joonjung.com/03/2010/cloud-stool/)
A gift off Roo one Christmas, these cups are made from the imprints of Victorian lace and yet brilliantly nod to the uncanny bizarre of surrealism in a utility object. (http://www.undergrowthdesign.com/)
Feels like home.