I have found myself craving any opportunity that consists of sharing beyond these four walls where I’ve been writing, emailing and video conferencing for the last four months.
The distance between us does not replace or prevent our connection with those across the country or down the road. And despite being remote for the better part of 2020, there have been endless moments to laugh, share, create, inspire and celebrate, which was the intention for Interface’s first ever Virtual Exhibition.
Below you’ll see a curated exhibition of fourteen recent graduates from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Class of 2020. They are artists, designers, influencers, future leaders in sustainability and an absolute inspiration. Their work is the result of a diverse set of disciplines:
Fibers | Painting | Industrial Design | Interior Design
Enjoy this inspired collection of work from the newest generation of emerging designers and artists that will shape and influence our industry and countless others for years to come. And to watch some of these artists speak more in-depth about their projects, creative process and next steps, check out the video below.
Fibers
DEVIN BOYLE, Cycles: Color and Healing
Devin Boyle has a B.A. in Philosophy & Religion and Foreign Language. This background has made her a global thinker with diverse knowledge on history, anthropology, and literature, and art. Boyle is interested in studying the intersection of cloth, culture, and politics specifically in regard to women and women’s work. Most recently Boyle has completed an MFA in Fibers where her project Cycles was developed.
Cycles is an installation of over one hundred yards of hand dyed silk and cotton. Boyle used natural dyes and dyeing to deconstruct the images and symbolism of witchcraft, by drawing connections between woman, hearth, cauldron, herbalism, healing, and color. These connections give insight to how society’s conception of womankind has been shaped.
The cloth was dyed red and blue with various combinations of madder root, cochineal, osage, and indigo. Red and blue are a visual representation of the cycles that intimately connect women and nature. The belief is that not only do women mimic the cycles of nature but move in sync with nature itself. This sort of understanding still persists today and is commonly conceptualized as Mother Nature.
Instagram: @dee_bork
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ABBY HOLLIS, Thread Threads
Abby Hollis’s perspective on problem solving is informed by her understanding of textiles as a universal language, common user interface, and exemplification of material stewardship. She is passionate about the role of user research and storytelling in systems reform and behavior change. She asserts that textiles are closely tied to human behavior and approaches problems in a variety of industries through the lens of a textile designer and maker.
Hollis is currently developing Thread Threads, a digital archive of tactile experience, intended to inspire a more intimate relationship with cloth and greater material stewardship.
Instagram: @abbyc_hollis, @mythreadthreads
Website: www.abbyhollis.com, www.threadthreads.com
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CHHAVI KASHYAP, Land of Escape
Chhavi Kashyap created a textile collection inspired from a variety of textures and forms found in the surrounding landscape with a color palette inspired by the rich hues of deep woods and dense canopies, shades of sky and fresh brights. An energetic illustrative style abstracts motifs, shapes and textures. Rooted in the idea of hybridization, this collection brings together handcraft with an industrial offering of 2D patterns and 3D structures to create functional textiles.
Instagram: @chhavi.k16
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LEXI HARE, Apotheosize
Lexi Hare’s, Apotheosize, explores the history of self and natural tendencies towards a perpetual cycle of destruction and revival. These swatches build on an emotional landscape, connecting personal symbolisms with artifacts left behind: teeth, hair, bones, history.
Taking inspiration from the Victorian Era Memento Mori trend, Apotheosize bridges memory and materiality, integrating a perplexing array of textiles and objects into distinctive surfaces.
Each composition corresponds to a precise location, date, and characteristic of place. The memories of varying physical landscapes of my childhood carry the weight of my past selves, thus memorializing these versions of self by allowing each textile to act as a shed skin.
Instagram: @wolfganglexington
Website: www.wolfganglexington.com
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VICTORIA WANJUHI, Cluster and Scraps of Denim
Victoria Wanjuhi received her BFA in Fashion from SCAD and worked in the garment industry as an assistant designer before pursuing her MFA in Fibers. Growing up in Kenya, she saw low-income communities recycle materials and make innovative pieces from waste. During her graduate studies, she reevaluated her relationship with making by carefully thinking about process and limiting her materials to discarded and upcycled textiles. Her pieces explore abstraction, distortion and reimagine the material in various forms and design applications. This process extends a material’s life-cycle instead of adding to the overburdened environment.
Cluster is a large-scale knit assemblage inspired by spontaneous architecture surrounding low-income communities. It represents the action that takes place when repetitive objects with the same functions are closely built together using repurposed materials.
Scraps of Denim is a set of four Jacquard woven pieces embellished with Masai glass beads in collaboration with Noonkokua Enole Naingisa, a local artisan based in Maasai Mara, Kenya.
Instagram: @victoriawajohe
Website: www.wanjuhi.com
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Painting
BRADLEY COLLINS
Bradley Collins is a multidisciplinary artist who combines painting, printmaking, performance and video art into his practice which is focused on ideas of chance, repetition and labor.
In his practice, Collins plays the role of both boss and laborer. As boss, Collins designs a series of layered chance-oriented instructions – as laborer Collins carries out the assigned tasks with no questions asked. Collins is involved in the paradox of repetitive actions often finding solace in seemingly meaningless labor.
Instagram: @bradley.collins.art
Website: www.bradleycollinsart.com
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LIEM DUONG
Liem Duong’s work explores the characteristics of Tay culture and the symbiotic relationships between humans and animals that have existed for many generations. Duong’s paintings address a personal history of challenges faced while living in a new country.
Inspired by the memories of the mountains, Duong is fueled to create work in a new environment. Subject matter is often small, seemingly mundane things that are made beautiful through new interpretation, such as the relationship between humans and the buffalo, cows, dogs, chickens and pigs of Duong’s hometown.
Instagram: @duong_gia_liem
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ASHNA MALIK
Through paintings and interactive projections, Ashna Malik aims to have the viewer question their limited perception and understanding of reality through stimulating visuals.
Using a combination of digital and traditional media, Malik pushes boundaries and provides the viewer with an encapsulating experience. Dynamic lines and vibrant colors create movement and distortion through optical play challenging the viewer’s perception of what they see and understand.
Instagram: @ashnamalik
Website: www.ashnamalik.myportfolio.com
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Industrial Design
BRETT AKOP, bLUE and Sprout
Brett Akop is an industrial and furniture designer that is passionate about creating lifestyles with sustainability at the forefront. Akop believes that design can hold many solutions toward a more sustainable future.
bLUE is a form study inspired by the design language of Andrea Borgogni.
Sprout is a handcrafted coatrack inspired by the life and fluidity found in nature made from metal and wood fabrication processes.
Instagram: @brettakop
Website: www.brettakop.com
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PEYTON FOX, Grounds
Grounds is a biodegradable material made from coffee grounds. This project was inspired by innovations in biomaterials across the design community and driven by society’s dependence on harmful materials, like plastics and animal leather. Grounds is a natural solution to toxic plastic and can be used to replace many harmful materials encountered daily.
Commercially, around 6 million tonnes of used coffee grounds are sent to landfill annually, Grounds redirects this waste. Fox began collecting used coffee grounds from local shops in Savannah< and developed a recipe for a durable and versatile material. The process was very experimental and by adapting the ratios of ingredients in the solution, the product can vary in flexibility, thickness, and transparency. The possibilities for application are continuing to be explored.
Instagram: @pey.fox
Website: www.peyfox.com
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NIKITA KHANNA, Solace
Nikita Khanna is an industrial designer. Solace is designed to be a personal safe space away from the noise of the world. Purely designed for you to express yourself, it helps you understand your body, both physically and emotionally. Solace adapts to you each session by sensing your heart rate and adjusting lighting and cushion comfort. Each practice has the option for recording which can be replayed or shared with a therapist and are concluded with a simple round of exercises to help build better life patterns.
Website: www.nikitakhanna.com
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FORD WILLIAMS, Precedent: The 2035 Flying Yacht
Ford Williams is an Industrial Designer specializing in future-focused interiors. Precedent: The 2035 Flying Yacht, is an entirely new form of lavish transportation for an age in which flying cars have saturated the world’s most sumptuous cities.
Precedent is an autonomous, hydrogen-fuel-cell VTOL vehicle equipped with the most modern luxuries; custom barware, modern and adaptive seating, social lounge and private quarters, all with a fantastic view and a prestigious interior.
Instagram: @merrildesign
Website: www.fordwilliams.squarespace.com
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Interior Design
XUETING HU, Cloud Zone Learning Center
Xueting Hu designed the Cloud Zone Learning Center for her capstone project. It is a learning center for children on the Autism Spectrum Disorder from ages two to twelve. Located in Portland, the building was designed by Kengo Kuma.
The inspiration behind the project is cumulus clouds, which change their form in response to their environment. By using these cumulus shapes the educational facility is warm, soft and pleasurable. Children can physically immerse themselves within the interior, making them feel safe and calm while encouraging them to embrace learning. Within the Cloud Zone Learning Center children can run through the sky and nap among the clouds.
Instagram: @cherylsher
Website: www.xuetinghu.com
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REBECCA SCHROEDER, Eudemonia
Design is fluid, it is moving, and it is changing. To take a risk and be innovative in the way you explore unique form and layering in space elevates the user’s encounter to create a thrilling experience; something I find can be lost in today’s “Pinterest Era.” This is an element, along with evidence-based design, that Rebecca Schroeder strives to integrate throughout her work.
When designing a space, Schroeder’s goal is to fortify the intended purpose while evoking curiosity and interest in the user. She often starts out with hand sketches, until the story of the space starts to unfold. Eudemonia is a facility, based in Providence, Rhode Island, that incorporates all forms of wellness: physical, social, spiritual, and emotional. The facility has been designed to bring you back to what is important; true connection and well-being through the choice of materials and the serenity of the design. It’s a space that draws a connection to the unique character of Rhode Island while bringing the community together.
Instagram: @rebeccaschroederdesign
Website: www.rebeccaschroeder.weebly.com
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Editor’s Note: A special thanks to the SCAD Alumni that submitted their work for consideration and members of Career and Alumni Services for helping coordinate this virtual exhibition.
Featured Image © Ashna Malik
