The binômes form the heart of design platform FOR THE NOW again this year, three duos of creatives from various disciplines and with different identities who discover themselves and each other over the course of a year, aiming to create a new visual language and push the boundaries of design as we know them. We would like to introduce this year’s three binômes in this article.
FOR THE NOW is a presentation and sales platform for both established and emerging Belgian designers. FOR THE NOW is an initiative of Flanders DC and Brussels Design September and will take place once again this year in September in Tour&Taxis Brussels.
This year, three duos will be formed, each pairing a designer and an artist. The three duos will work on one product over the course of a year. The mix of different identities and creative perspectives leads to a new visual language. In this way, FOR THE NOW hopes to open up the definition of design, rewrite it and make it more inclusive. This allows us to step out of our frames of reference and think more broadly than we have been taught and be open to forms of design previously unknown to us.
1. Binôme Eva Lynen and Vanessa Yuan
Who are they?
Eva Lynen is active as an illustrator and visual artist. Within her visual artwork, she is a storyteller. She uses imagined characters and locations and searches for the right setting to depict an event. This results in playful images in which colour and composition play an important role.
“While drawing and creating images feels like second nature, design is still unknown territory for me. I look forward to looking at my work from a different perspective”
Vanessa Yuan was born in Taiwan. She started as a product designer in Milan and evolved to become a project manager for shop fittings for Italian fashion houses. In 2011, she founded the design studio VYDC in Antwerp with Joris Vanbriel. Since 2016, they have been running their own circular design brand ecoBirdy.
“This project gives me the opportunity to work in a different way than I am used to and, at the same time, inspires me to reflect on my cultural identity”
Why were they brought together?
Eva and Vanessa’s worlds couldn’t be further apart. Vanessa, from busy Taiwan, where the visual is very strongly prominent, and Eva, who left quiet Limburg behind for the hustle and bustle of Brussels, where she finds inspiration. Vanessa’s work is sober and stylised; Eva’s is busy and colourful. One draws, and the other invents materials and shapes. Both of them are looking for the opposite of where they come from. In this way, not only do their own backgrounds and work come into direct opposition, but so does their work together. The question now is: where do they find each other?
Eva Lynen
Vanessa Yuan
2. Binôme Nina Van Herck and Josefien Cornette
Who are they?
Nina Van Herck is a product designer whose ambition is to awaken emotions, start conversations and inject beauty into the everyday world. Her style is timeless, with an organic touch in which nature is her greatest source of inspiration. It is in Nina’s character to “care for”, and that is the guiding principle in her designs.
“This project is an opportunity to learn, to grow personally and to innovate. I hope to challenge not only my own design philosophy, but also the design world”
Josefien Cornette is an artist-writer. She has a multidisciplinary practice with a background in art history, feminism, gender identity and disabilities. Josefien was an editor of cultural magazine rekto:verso. She is involved in building a movement of crip artists in Belgium.
“I hope to take on a challenge for myself with this project, but also to present society with a challenge”
Why were they brought together?
Josefiens’ work has an activist angle. She was born with a disability, which made the path of her life somewhat atypical. That was the source from which she developed an idiosyncratic outlook. Together with her ex-partner, Nina developed a model of sex furniture for people with disabilities. She wants to open up the design market and develop creations for people who are out of the mainstream. Both individuals have a broad view of the world and want to bring about change.
Nina Van Herck
Josefien Cornette
3. Binôme Octave Vandeweghe and Morevi
Who are they?
Octave Vandeweghe is an artist who focuses on stone cutting and industrial product design. In his work, he explores how beauty becomes functional. By contrasting raw crystals with utensils or industrially manufactured elements, he cultivates an unearthly tension between nature and culture.
“My work always results from the back-and-forth movement between visual work and utensils. This project is also an inspiring interaction”
Morevi is the Georgian-Belgian design duo Ana Naskidashvili and Frederik Poisquet. Their textile works are inspired by Georgian traditions, a tribute to Ana’s homeland. They approach their creations with a research-driven method by which they only work with natural materials.
“For this project, we are inspired by objects from the distant past to create something new that is still relevant today”
Why were they brought together?
Both Octave and Ana and Frederik “are” nature, the world around them. When they first met, it was as if they instantly belonged together. Where Morevi finds inspiration in Georgia, Octave looks for it in the stones around him. Although they do not work with the same materials, it is their passion for caring for and honouring Mother Earth that connects them. They make the world an even more beautiful place with their creations. Their work together will be enchanting.
Octave Vandeweghe
Morevi
You can also follow updates on FOR THE NOW and the binômes on Instagram!
