Since the Industrial Revolution ignorance and negligence have generated overloaded landfills in our throw-away culture. Metals are crucial to our world, and, unfortunately, a non-renewable resource. ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ is an ongoing project about giving a new identity to metal waste by applying it as a pigment from industries such as drinking water supply and soil remediation into new valuable products and methods. As a result of broad-scale material research and prototyping, one outcome is interior/exterior ceramic tiles, which are colored using 100% industrial metal waste. In this project, surprisingly, the more contaminated the raw material, the more vibrant the designed objects are.
Soil remediation company in Weert, The Netherlands, generates around 30200 tons of toxic metal waste per year. Drinking water supply company to provide water for one town generates around 10 tons of iron waste per month. The value of a currently ‘valueless’ and often toxic metal waste is recovered in a functional, process-efficient and scalable way. Waste is used instead of buying industrially produced pigments from the same metals. The waste source is reliable to ensure similar colors. Tiles can be produced in unlimited quantities and come in a variety of sizes and colors. The production factory is applying glazes by hands leading to subtle variations in shades. The products have a distinctive appearance, are safe, sustainability-focused and as research continues they gradually will evolve towards an even more environmentally friendly version. The aim of this project is to show that waste is not a limitation, but an opportunity and to challenge the current industrial color mass manufacture.
/ 2020
In 2017 I developed limited-edition ceramic tiles for Jordy’s bakery and restaurant in Rotterdam. Tiles are hand-made and colored exceptionally using industrial metal waste.
/ 2017
Ceramic glaze color research aimed at creating a collection of tiles with stable glazes and a variety of colors. Pigments are derived purely from industrial metal waste.
/2017 - ongoing
The era of the Industrial Revolution was a time in which possibilities of what man could produce seemed limitless. No thought was given to the potential side effects of industry; indeed no knowledge of them existed at the time. As a result, many heavy metals were allowed to pollute vast areas near production sites. As an example, the zinc factory in the De Kempen area of the Netherlands was giving away their poisonous waste product, called zinc ashes, to people for building roads and paths (no grass could grow on it).
In an effort to find some potential use for this polluted byproduct, I collected soil from six different locations. These included samples from a zinc factory in Budel, a soil remediation company in Weert, and waste from companies that clean drinking water. Soil remediation companies clean huge amounts of soil each year, most of which is stored in the immediate vicinity of the company or in landfills specifically designated for such waste. I then experimented with various techniques to use these waste products in a transformative manner. I mixed the waste with porcelain clay and glaze. One result is a set of timeless tableware, I created with this material. One would not choose to create pollution in our current era, but as a practical matter, there is now an abundance of waste material available for experimentation at no or little cost. Ironically, the material with the highest levels of contamination may provide the most benefit for the persons requiring heavy metals for this kind of exploration.
These pieces will hopefully become a thread connecting past abuse with current reuse, and future (blissful) awareness.
'Ignorance is Bliss' textile project began in 2016 when the broad-scale material research was done to prove that non-toxic industrial metal waste has the potential to become reliable pigments. I experimented with various coloring techniques and fibers leading to promising results and first product batches. Cotton and wool yarns were colored using iron sludge from the drinking water supply company in Ossendrecht, the Netherlands. They were woven into a beautiful table runner. Since the first edition, I continued exploring additional potential waste materials from similar and other industries. In 2018 I started a dialogue with 'Ecolinum', a Lithuanian company, which produces eco-friendly linen carpets. We did first carpet samples within their facilities to evaluate the look and feel of such a concept. In 2020 we received funding from the EU Worth Partnership project. I am designing a collection of handmade rugs, with fibers colored using waste from industries such as drinking water supply, food, beverage, pharma, and cosmetics. The main goals are recovering the value of currently ‘valueless’ industrial waste in a functional and scalable way and to challenge the current color manufacture.
A collection of hand-made rugs will be colored with waste from different waste stream locations. Collaboration is established with water drinking supply companies in the Netherlands and Lithuania, which provide waste such as iron and coal. Iron can vary from orange and red to brown and black. All color tones will reflect in the carpets and will have diverse designs of different sizes, types of yarns, and pile heights. The innovative aspect of using waste material for dyeing will be visually translated to the carpet, not just pure decoration.
Sustainability issues in textile production include the use of toxic chemicals, high water consumption, high energy consumption, and huge waste generation. I am supporting natural dyeing using non-toxic metal and plant-based waste. Iron, besides giving intense rich colors, is being used as a mordant, preventing color to fade away for centuries, which makes it perfect for dyeing textiles.
‘Ignorance is Bliss’ started in 2016 as a broad-scale material research project of implementing industrial metal waste as a pigment by creating new coloring techniques using diverse mediums, such as ceramics, glass, and textiles. One outcome is a limited-edition glass objects collection. The color of glass purely comes from metal waste.
The era of the Industrial Revolution was a time in which possibilities of what man could produce seemed limitless. No thought was given to the potential side effects of industry; indeed no knowledge of them existed at the time. As a result, many heavy metals were allowed to pollute vast areas near production sites.
In an effort to find some potential use for this polluted byproduct, I collected soil from six different locations. These included samples from a zinc factory in Budel, a soil remediation company in Weert, and drinking water supply companies across the Netherlands. I then experimented with various techniques to use this waste product in a transformative manner. Metals have coloring properties when applied to certain materials. I mixed the waste with porcelain clay, glaze, glass, and textiles. One would not choose to create pollution in our current era, but as a practical matter, there is an abundance of waste material available for experimentation at no or little cost. Ironically, the material with the highest levels of contamination may provide the most benefit for this kind of exploration. Toxic materials after firing at a high temperature are captured in glaze and glass and become safe to use.
/ 2016 - ongoing
Arita is a small town in western Saga prefecture on Kyushu that is famous throughout Japan for its pottery, known as Arita-yaki. The history of Arita-yaki dates back about 400 years when Toyotomi Hideyoshi attempted to invade Korea and brought several highly skilled Korean craftsmen to Japan. In 1616 one of these craftsmen discovered kaolin, the rock required for the making of porcelain. Consequently, Arita became the first place of porcelain production in Japan. Nowadays most of the materials are imported. During my stay in Arita, I was researching the history of Arita-yaki and collected local raw materials used in ceramic making. I was experimenting with those materials to create own unique porcelain clay and glazes. The research was applied to a series of bowls, inspired by Japanese shapes and was executed by the local craftsman. This project shows new possibilities using just local materials and the importance of collaboration between craft and design, East and West.
/ 2015
In Lithuania sauna has deep traditions and is a must for a man’s well being. It relieves stress, relaxes muscles, flushes toxins, cleanses the skin, improves cardiovascular performance, boosts your immune system. The list is endless.
Sandblasting reveals the structure of the grains by removing the soft part of the wood. By using this technique I created series of functional sauna and after sauna objects for man’s well being: massage slippers, body massagers and scrubs, soap holder, comb, and a cup with a reduced surface against heat. The sandblasting technique becomes not just a visual element but gives functionality to the object.
/ 2014
