Slow Hand Design Volume II

For the second consecutive year, an exhibition curated by Eggarat Wongcharit brings contemporary Thai design to the Salone del Mobile.

Bathed in light

Drawing from its more than 30 years of experience, SICIS introduces backlit pools in Vetrite, a patented solution that combines design, technology and function.

Sponsored content

The cycle exploring contemporary Thai design curated by researcher Eggarat Wongcharit continues, after opening in 2011 at Superstudio Più, in a striking exhibition design by Bangkok's B.U.G.. "Slow Hand Design: The Heart Value of Thai Products" at the 2011 Salone del Mobile marked Thai design's debut in Milan, and instantly highlighted its key concept of slowness (emotional and time-wise) in the production process, which equates to love and care put into a product's manufacture.

This year, its curator Eggarat Wongcharit has delved into the very spirit of Thai craftsmanship and added a new subtitle "Slow Hand Design: Interweaving the Spirit of Thai Design". The holistic approach behind the manufacture of every single product in the East is reflected in the technique adopted for these eclectic objects, be they simple spoons, elaborate seating, or lamps created with natural silk cocoons that are delicate to the touch. The spotlight is on this people's distinctive attitude to the concept-product and its development to industrial levels, in light of industry's recent accelerated advance towards mass-produced design, a combination of age-old tradition and modern technology while also holding on to Thailand's wonderful past.

The second exhibition on this country's contemporary design, promoted by the Thai government, repeats the original title but its focus is firmly directed at an important aspect of the way design is conceived and developed in modern Thailand. The aim of "Slow Hand Design: Interweaving the Spirit of Thai Design" this time is to explore the direction in which its variegated design is moving, i.e. the crucial complicity between machine-industry and manual action (human laws) and its optimisation thanks to technological contributions dictated by the times. It will, on the one hand, upgrade the national industry and, on the other, engage human resources but it will also leave its mark on the country as a whole.

A preview of the products to be displayed at "Slow Hand Design: Interweaving the Spirit of Thai Design" at Superstudio Più during the 2012 Salone del Mobile

The exhibition "Slow Hand Design: Interweaving the Spirit of Thai Design" was made possible by backing from the prestigious Demark Design Excellence body (which presents a large show of selected designs), the Department of Export Promotion and the Thai Ministry of Foreign Trade in conjunction with the Thai Trade Office in Milan and the Design & Objects Association. It gives an overview of various applied-design productions, reviewing leading companies that play a substantial role in the Thai economy at home and abroad.

Divided into three sections, the contents of the exhibition illustrate the story of Thai design, its distinctive DNA as regards the Thai design community and the close links and partnership between local craftspeople and industrial production. For 2012, the focus is on "industrial craft manufacturing" and "mass industrial manufacturing", processes that can change the face of traditional design and make a strong impact on social aspects in the country. "A Thai product is never 100% industrially made. There is always that little something that only a human hand can add. The Thai people are at their best when using their hands and hearts, as demonstrated by our hospitality, wellbeing and cuisine markets", adds Eggarat Wongcharit. "Thailand may well be making huge progress towards massive industrial development but our production times are significantly longer than those of the West and the United States. This is a mark of our patience and dedication which I, personally, consider a plus."

The spotlight is on this people's distinctive attitude to the concept-product and its development to industrial levels, a combination of age-old tradition and modern technology while also holding on to Thailand's wonderful past

The exhibition is given over to those who want to try out a different approach to production, one of spiritual industrialisation, the cornerstone of the governmental project entitled Thailand Creative Economy, launched two years ago. Wongcharit adds, "Thai design manages to elevate the quality of working standards; what people in the West simply call design we see as development, evolution and work. Design is an innovative social-tool for us."
As they say, Good Design! Maria Cristina Didero