European design duo Kathi Stertzig and Albio Nascimento of the Home Project have made a career out of playing with familiar objects and using them in unexpected new ways. Their MAX 5000W installation is a great example of their environmentally provocative thinking. Asking “What is the value of energy?” and “Is electricity really necessary for light?” this clever candle holder made from an old extension cord plays with the boundaries of high-tech and low-tech.
-
-
-
-
Kathi Stertzig, born in Germany, works and lives in Berlin and Portugal. After her education in interior design in Hanover and Milan, she graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven (:department well-being”). She was recently teaching and coordinating at the Design Academy and is now directing, with Albio, social interactive events and exhibitions, as well as developing own product- and interior design ideas. Her special interest lies in interaction, project-management, and social-driven developments of design concepts and products.
Albio Nascimento, of Portuguese origin, lives and works in Berlin and Faro, Portugal. Trained in interior design and product design in Lisbon and Milan, he found his special interest in researching the significance of home and housing through cultures. He worked at the Experimenta – Bienal de Lisboa 2005 and started DesignForFuture, an annual exhibition on sustainable design. Besides, he is constantly busy as co-founder of Illegal Beauty, as well as of his several own design projects and research. His special interest lies in searching sustainable development on material culture, social interactive design, and research on bio-design.
+ The Home Project
Great idea. Not a usable product. As Art,it’s cool. Anything plugged into a wall outlet draws a small amount of electricity… SO… it’s fascinating to note that this artistic statement wastes energy, while asking us to question our possible energy wastefulness.
P.S. it’s NOT an extension cord ! It’s an ‘Outlet Strip’.
Richie,
Your statement of “Anything plugged into a wall outlet draws a small amount of electricity” is false; if the electrical circuit is not closed there is no flow of current, thus no consumption of energy.
Additionally, it can be clearly seen that the power strip has been gutted completely to become nothing more than a candle holder.