BUREAU EUROPA / MAASTRICHT
PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
THE NEXT BIG THING IS NOT A THING
6 MARCH - 10 JULY 2016
OPENING: 5 MARCH 2016
TERRITORIAL CLAIM by Uli Aigner
The project One Million Porcelain is a project initiated by artist Uli Aigner who made the artistic decision to craft one
million porcelain vessels by her very own hands. The vessels are chronologically numbered from 1 to 1,000,000. In
this life long endeavor she embodies Richards Sennettʼs theories about the philosophical connection between the
hand and the head while exploring how the structure of numbers are literally embedded in the sculpted material.
Shepresents 193 + 13 vessels referring to the 193 nation states currently existing plus 13 states whose sovereignty
is disputed by the United Nations. Through these elements the relationship between production, object and the world
is verified.
The exhibition The Next Big Thing is Not a Thing relates the evolving field of design to the science of anthropology.
Using the gaze as a metaphor, the exhibition surveys the evolution of the design discipline and examines new fields
of knowledge and critical practices.
The exhibition questions the underlying myths within design, deconstructs its emerging signs, and examines how
technology determines the future landscape of design.
The exhibition acknowledges the designer’s perspective as a critical aspect of any research and design undertaking,
viewing design as an inherently relational field. The Next Big Thing is Not a Thing opens dialogue and aims to under-
stand design culture far beyond its horizons as a product-oriented practice and places it within the subject of a discipline
in cultural developments.
The works of more than 50 international visual artists, designers, and anthropologists illustrate and elaborate on hypo-
thetical concepts and expanding design views.
The invited contributors include Adbusters, Uli Aigner, AO Clouds, Atelier NL, Maarten Baas, Roger Ballen and Die Ant-
woord, Artur Beifuss, Marc Bijl, Zach Blas, Pierre Bourdieu, James Bridle, Ingrid Burrington, Emma Charles, Cucula,
Dries Depoorter, Theo Deutinger and Stefanos Filippas, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Ines Doujak and John Barker, Jalila
Essaïdi, Forensic Architecture, Forma Fantasma for Droog Design, Dave Hakkens, Massoud Hassani, Susanna Hertrich,
Manon van Hoeckel, Dirk Vander Kooij, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Monobanda and DUS Architecten, Fabrice Monteiro, Jasper
Morrison, Geert Mul, Eli Noyes, Alicia Ongay-Perez, Ruben Pater and Jaap van Heusden, Eline van der Ploeg, Julien Pré-
vieux, Re-Do Studio, Jan Rothuizen, Safecast, ScanLAB Projects, SchilderScholte Architects, Lalage Snow, Philippe Starck,
Studio Drift, Gudrun F. Widlok, The Yes Men, Liam Young and TeYosh.
Inspired by the research and publication Design Anthropology by Dr Yana Milev, the exhibition aims at building on the three
pillars upon which the expanded design concept is based: Segno, Mythus, and Techne, to aggregate new views on design
culture.
The exhibition is curated by Pauline Doutreluingne, Agata Jaworska, Yana Milev, Niels Schrader and Saskia van Stein.