PLAYING WITH COLOUR:
ORCUM ERDEM & KAYA STUDIO
Multidisciplinary designers Orcum Erdem and Kaya Studio create artefacts that are inspired by pop art and pleasure.
Based in Helsinki, Erdem studied at the Aalto University in Espoo, Finland. He now works as a visual designer and independent glass artist, creating products by hand from molten glass.
The collection that forms part of Cluster’s current online exhibition and our curated design store is called Plastic Crush and is the largest collection that Erdem has launched so far. The inspiration was born of a whim that led to a series of curvaceous and bright glass donuts and cupcakes.
Erdem is drawn to working with glass because of the dynamic nature of the crafting process: the glass, in it’s hot and liquid form, needs fast and intuitive work. It forces the artist to work quickly, trusting their instincts.
It feels like walking on thin ice and running away from impending doom,” says Erdem. “Because glass may crack at any time and usually there is no way to fix it, you have to start over. I think this tension makes it exciting and keeps me going.”
The collection is formed of multicoloured, handblown pieces made with soda-lime glass. While Erdem leaves much of the creative process in the hands of the moment, he is very particular about his colour choices, assigning all the hues he will use in advance. He works with loud shades and soft pastels, often highly saturating the glass.
“I want to have my works detached from their surroundings with their cartoon-like flat and bright colours, as if they accidentally dropped out of a cartoon.”
Inspired by pop culture, Erdem’s pieces take everyday objects and slightly distort them. He draws on contemporary culture and childhood memories, with playfulness and fun in the very DNA of his creations. Mass produced items, such as sugared donuts, become one-off items in the workshop of the artisan.
The global pandemic and its resulting restrictions forced many designers out of the studios and maker spaces they share. While incredibly tough, Erdem used this upheaval to focus on mastering digital tools and AR technologies.
“Life on earth is surprisingly fragile but resilient at the same time. Restrictions showed me how even small things like walking on a street or going to a shopping mall could become such luxuries that we have never been aware of. It changed how I see everyday life quite dramatically.”
Plastic Crush is a still-evolving collection. You can take home one of Erdem’s exquisite donuts from our online store here. Perhaps, now equipped with new digital skills, the future of Plastic Crush will be the addition of sound and animation to its online representations. Watch this space.
Kaya Studio, another designer in the Cluster community, also plays with colour, desire and pop culture. Based in Korea, Kaya (whose real name is Ji Young Kim) studied textile design in London before setting up her own multidisciplinary studio in a traditional manufacturing suburb of Seoul, Korea.
Fashion was Kaya’s first passion, and the fascination with consumer culture informs her visual design work. She also takes cues from all the digital stimuli we are exposed to and combines tactile and visual qualities.
Kaya’s studio began with a focus on digital design and film. The collection of Rainbow Coasters, which is now part of Cluster Craft’s digital exhibition and shop, was her first foray into product design. The coasters are made of resin and have shimmering holographic colours. The pearlescent shades and periwinkle blues have a soothing effect, shifting and changing with the light.
“It is very easy to make colours with resin,” says Kaya. “You can make colours with the same degree of freedom as watercolours. And it makes everything hard, so it's fun to mix with different ingredients.”
You can buy KAYA Studio’s Rainbow Coasters here.
As well as running Kaya Studio, Ji Young Kim runs an experimental project called thingworkshop, which is open to anyone wanting to participate. Here she experiments with different materials and processes.
“In the workshop, things are very random and experimental.”
The past year has been strange for many designers. Kaya had to reduce the number of people who could be in the thingworkshop at any one time.
“I really miss the days that we could be packed in together and the space could be bustling with people,” she said. “I love digital and I love online, but it should be just part of my life – not my entire life.”
Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.