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IN A LIVING ROOM CONTEXT, NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC, PERMANENT AND EPHEMERAL AS WELL AS VIRGIN AND RECLAIMED ELEMENTS ARE JUXTAPOSED. WITH SOFT WORKS IN DER ELST WANTS TO QUESTION COMMON NOTIONS OF CONTACT, CONSTANCY AND COMFORT.
IN DER ELST HAD A GOAL OF EXPANDING TABLEAU’S INDEX OF INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS WHEN FIRST STARTING THE WORK PROCESS. IN THE MAKING OF THE PIECES TRADITIONAL UPHOLSTERY PROCESSES WERE BYPASSED, WHILE HE PAID AN INCREASED AWARNESS TO SOFT MATTER
BY EXPLORING A RANGE OF DIFFERENT GESTURES WITHIN THE PRODUCTION. THE DESIGNS WERE SELECTED TO EMPHASIZE THE MATERIAL PROPERTIES. THIS LED TO AN EXPERIMENT OF A RATHER ODD MATERIAL SELECTION WITH AN INTENSION TO ENCOURAGE THE SENSES.
ONE WILL SEE THAT THE COLLECTION OF MATERIALS AND PROCESSES VARY WIDELY WHILE THE OBJECTS ARE INTERLINKED BY THEIR MATCHABLE MARKS OF PRODUCTION. SILICON SEAMS BECOME STEEL WELDS, BROKEN CORK EDGES EVOLVE INTO RUBBER GRANULATE OUTLINES AND EXPANDING FOAM ALTERS INTO COLLAPSING WAX BLOCKS. THIS ALL COMES IN TO ONE WHEN EXPERIENCING THE FULL EXHIBITION SOFT WORKS.