Behind Design: Christien Meindertsma

“Behind every product that you see or use is a world of development. Materials, People, Processes.” These are the words of Dutch designer, Christien Meindertsma. It is a statement that defines the works of Meindertsma, whose investigative approach to design has led to projects that understand objects and their manufacture in intriguing and fascinating ways. Between August 18, 2018-January 20, 2019, the Vitra Design Museum hosted Christien Meindertsma's first solo show outside the Netherlands entitled Beyond the Surface.

The exhibition featured a variety of her projects ranging from publications to installations to furniture, including One Sheep Sweater (2010)–a series of sweaters in which the size of each garment was defined by how much wool came from a single sheep–and The Bottom Ash Observatory project (2015) which examines the valuable materials found in the residue of household waste incineration.

However, the exhibition did not solely focus on the designer's final products but invited visitors to take a deep dive into Meindertsma’s thorough design process. It presented material samples, prototypes, photographs and documentary style films, produced in collaboration with filmmaker Roel van Tour. This variety of media made visible the complex world of industrial production, allowing outsiders to access otherwise unattainable information.

Meindertsma strongly believes that "every object could be the start of a documentary if you unravel its story." The exhibition embodied her endless curiosity for all things man-made. It was this same curiosity which led her to make PIG 05049, a book that catalogs all the products that can come from a single pig including ammunition, heart valves, chewing gum and even biodiesel. The project took three years to complete.

This depth of research is seen in each of Meinderstma’s projects which are long-term and based around first-hand field research. The designer visits factories, farmers and anyone involved with the production whatever material she is working with. Reflecting on her process, Meindertsma enjoys that it leads to “finding things that you did not know you were looking for.”

Another project highlighted in the exhibition is Flax Chair, for which Meindertsma won the New Material Award and the Dutch Design Award in 2016. This biodegradable chair was part of a much larger investigation into flax. After discovering it’s strong Dutch origin, Meindertsma purchased a whole flax harvest from a farmer and carefully followed the process of farming it. Whilst exploring all manners of potential uses for flax she produced items such as tea towels, ropes and, finally the chair.

The unique projects of Meindertsma highlight industrial processes and, in doing so, they create a platform from which to examine them. Her work questions whether things could or, perhaps, should be made differently. She urges us to think about materials and objects in a new light and value the immense time and effort that goes into everything we touch, hold, use and, ultimately, throw away.


Text by Lara Chapman


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