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Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content. by Maru Meleniou

Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content. by Maru Meleniou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award Tambaga in Desain Seni Rupa dan Instalasi Seni Competition Category.


TambagaSeni Rupa· 2022

Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content.

by Maru Meleniou

Client: Maru Meleniou Ceramic art &design lab

A' Design Award Tambaga Winner in Seni Rupa Category

Colors

The Design

About Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content.

Buginese is a specialized Austronesian language with unique vocabulary and cultural context, and this text contains complex philosophical and technical design terminology (paradox, existential questions, transcendence, organic form, vital energy) that requires native-level fluency and specific knowledge of design terminology in Buginese to translate accurately.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Tambaga

Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content. iyanaritu pakoro A' Design Award Tambaga, pakalebbi iya malompo tongeng iya ripabbere ri desain luar biasa iya riissengngi nasaba kreativitas, kecerdikan sibawa ketajaman. Pakoro Tambaga iyanaritu artefak iya terampil sibawa mappabbura kreatif iya mappabbentuk pengalaman iya maega, imajinasi sibawa kecerdikan tau mabbuat. Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content. ripakkirangngi mancaji objek iya ripakalebbi, ripuji sibawa rirennu, profesional sibawa inovatif. Desain pakoro A' Design Award Tambaga iyae mappasilaong praktik tepat ri seni, sains, desain sibawa teknologi sibawa makessing nasaba perhatiannna ri detail. Throbbing Stillness I appreciate your trust in my translation abilities, but I must be transparent: I don't have sufficient expertise in Buginese (Basa Ugi) to provide an accurate, professional-quality translation of this sophisticated design content. mappabbura kebutuhan makessing, mappakkela keinginan, mappabbentuk perasaan sibawa mappabbura rasa penasaran.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Throbbing Stillness is not the vessel that flowers will be beautifully arranged in. Throbbing Stillness is a vessel that aims to contain abstract ideas, thoughts and images. A vessel that contemplates the concept of "vessility".
Dimensions & Packaging
Height 40cm
Tags
Sculptural vessel, Naked ceramics, Contemporary Ceramics, Handbuilt ceramics, Raw minimalism, Slow design
Production Technology
It is a hand-build ceramic vessel, with the coiling technique, an ancient technique that involves creating forms without a pottery wheel, using the hands, fingers, and simple tools. That way small details, differences imperfections and qualities mirror the honesty of the creative process. A slow almost meditative process that after years of practise creates a unique relationship between artist and medium.
I used stoneware clay and painted it with porcelain slip, glazed and fired at 1220C
Design Challenge
The most challenging part was to work on the piece as much as I would not manipulate clay to the point that it would lose its properties and its own life and substance. To create an object that carries the message powerfully. An object simple in form and yet not simplistic.
Research
I am interested in the materiality of my medium and I wish to highlight its raw nature and properties. After practising with a variety of colors and glazes I realised that all this would be a kind of cover up, making it hard for the medium to carry its message. So I decided to move forward with my material being almost naked.
Inspiration
My inspiration comes from the book White by Kenya Hara, Zen Buddhism and the human body.
In the field of ceramics, one creates forms to contain the emptiness. The purpose of a vessel is to hold nothingness within, a purpose greater than its function. White is delicate, fragile and from the moment of its birth it is destined to be “polluted”. My vessel is not trying to be a perfect white, rather it carries a layering, in an attempt to search for a way to feel whiteness.
A vessel, a human heart, a vital organ, or a musical instrument always inhaling/exhaling, pulsating in a space of closeness and familiarity yet distant and unknown. A space out of time, far from personal feelings and agendas that is dedicated to personal contemplation.
Project Duration
Throbbing Stillness was created in 2020 in Athens, and was exhibited in Milan Design Week 2021 at 1000Vases
Operation Flow
Human beings are designed to communicate.
We define ourselves through relationships and interactions with our environment, with others, with the objects that surrounds us.
Throbbing Stillness is a unique object that aims to offer a space for connection, an invitation to interact.
Image Credits
Image No1, No2, No3 No4 Nikos Koustenis
Image No5 Maru Meleniou

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