An illustrated catalogue essay about our contribution to the 2010 Saint-Étienne International Design Biennale

Dunne, Anthony

Raby, Fiona

French

Royal College of Art Research Repository

Between Reality and the Impossible

Raby (with Dunne) was commissioned to create one of the exhibitions in this major biennale, which featured 650 projects from 40 countries and involved 450 designers.

Raby sought to exhibit conceptual design proposals where the narrative and ideas were as important as the designs. The approach was based on speculation concerning the kinds of technologically mediated world where people may wish to live, an alternative strategy to those of future forecasts (commercial), design scenarios (corporate) and utopias and dystopias (literary and cinematic). Dunne and Raby argue (Speculative Everything, 2013) that design must look beyond its own limits to the methodological arenas of cinema, literature, science, ethics, politics and art, to explore, hybridise, borrow and embrace the many tools available for crafting not only things, but ideas.

Raby developed and presented the proposals using models, photographic scenarios, videos and 3D texts, making tangible dreams, hopes and fears about the social, cultural and ethical consequences of an increasingly technologically mediated society. A central concern was the role of consumption, in which the act of buying determines the future. By presenting hypothetical products, services and systems from alternative futures, questions, thoughts, ideas and possibilities were expressed through the language of design. The nature of design itself was critiqued, in particular its inherent optimism in attempting to modify the world rather than to challenge the ideas and attitudes that shape that world.

The ‘Between Reality and the Impossible’ exhibition offered nine spatialised narratives, with scenario photos by Jason Evans, stories by Alex Burrett and typography by Kellenberger-White. It featured in a biennale catalogue with an essay by Raby (with Dunne, 2010). The biennale attracted 85,000 visitors and was reported widely, including Design Week, Icon online, Design Indaba, Domus, Core77, Cumulus, We Make Money Not Art, Artacademia and Designboom (all 2010)

Between Reality and the Impossible

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Royal College of Art Research Repository

Royal College of Art Research Repository

Royal College of Art Research Repository