Replica Autoprogettazione
50 Years ago Enzo Mari presented Autoprogettazione, a series of furniture pieces to be assembled by the user using rough sawn timber, a hammer & nails in a process that was designed to help the user to better view mass produced objects with a critical eye. In present day, people are more detached than ever from the design and production of the spaces and objects that surround them.
As buildings have become more complex, the architecture that is so integral to our everyday lives has become both more reliant on standardised systems and more opaque than ever before. Complexities, each written in their own unique language, are concealed behind a homogonous veneer of surface.
In contrast to the romanticised vision of the modernists exploring materials in new ways and pushing manufacturing techniques to their limits; we twist, fold and tear standard details into a collage of meaning.
Alongside this shift to standardised methodologies in architecture, we have seen the rise of replica furniture, the factory farmed modernist icons at a low, low price. With a central focus on replicating an image, quality and craft are undercut in a race to the bottom.
This permeating attitude of irreverence towards intellectual property generates an environment in which original design is either drowned or absorbed by the churning waters.
At the intersection of all this, we find an opportunity for celebration. We will drag these systems into the light and we will make them dance.
An exhibition by Complete Thought Studio
Curators & Artists: Stephen Clement & Michelle Dunas
Collaborators: Kathryn Du Pre Le Roux, Tom Rubenach, Sophie Canaris, iDuct Sheet Metal, SSP Waterproofing
Sponsors: University of Sydney, Ezystrut, Holman, Knauf, Layher, Projex, Rondo, Wolfin
Systems & Self-Design
Saturday 3 August, 11:00am - 2:00pm
Venue: Tin Sheds Gallery
This gallery tour will involve a deep dive with Complete Thought Studio, the creators of Replica Autoprogettazione, into the variety of systems and materials used to create the furniture pieces shown in the exhibition.
Themes of the exhibition and its relationship to Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione will be unpacked and elaborated on in an open discussion, including ideas surrounding replica modernist furniture, systemization of architectural elements and DIY culture.
Real Talk on Fake Furniture
Thursday 15 August, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Venue: Wilkinson Building G04, Level 2 Hearth
A panel discussion on furniture design, replication and AI’s involvement, hosted by Complete Thought.
Leading designers and creative practitioners will discuss the ongoing impacts of replica furniture and its many different manifestations in the present day market. Join us as we explore challenges in contemporary design, including questions about the future of craft and DIY practices, authorship and design copyright and meaningful user engagement.
A workshop for the building of a chair by the person who will use it
Saturday 31 August, 10:00am - 1:00pm
Venue: Tin Sheds Gallery
A workshop for the building of a chair by the person who will use it involves the construction of the 'Sedia Q' chair from Enzo Mari’s Autoprogettazione series of furniture pieces on the 50th anniversary of Autoprogettazione. The chairs will be assembled from rough-sawn timber sections using only a hammer and nails as was the original intention.
Through discussion, material exploration and the act of making, the group will uncover their own insights and understanding of fabrication processes through the lens of Mari’s work. The workshop will be run by Stephen & Michelle of Complete Thought Studio.
Tin Sheds Gallery acknowledges the Gadigal of the Eora Nation, upon whose ancestral lands our exhibitions take place. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge of these lands, waterways and Country.
Replica Wassily Chair - Holman PVC & Wolfin Membrane, created by Stephen Clement & Michelle Dunas of Complete Thought Studio, 2024.