New Zealand Student Craft Design Awards
Recognising and rewarding student artists and designers
2020 Supreme Award Winner
The Materiality of Winter by Imogen Zino
AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY (AUT)
This investigation is a response to the Western world’s obsession with the mind and unequivocal reverence of sight to the detriment of the self and all other senses. It considers ways in which other senses, such as dynamic touch and reactive sound, may be ignited and re-united with sight, to re-engage the self and the inhabited environment. It posits that inspiring a sense of awe and wonder through the art of interaction may just be the antidote to a disconnected world.
A central aim of this project was to enable a greater sense of connection between the internal sensory world of the participant and the inhabited environment. Tactile, audible and visual metaphors of Winter sparked hidden narratives revealing realms transcending what the eye can see. Embodied experiences and performative interactions activated deep and ongoing conversations about being-in and being-within oneself and the space we inhabit.
The Materiality of Winter traverses the senses and ponders the potentiality of other imagined worlds. Suspended from the ceiling and dwelling in corners it creates a space within a space. It is a surface, a structure and an environment to be inhabited. This installation endeavours to elicit a sense of awe and wonder through multi-sensory interaction.