Even dust is a material. Studio Dust focuses on research through materials. “From dust to dust”. Dust is used as a material resource for designs and is used as a symbol, for a circular economy. “Pollution is nothing but the resources we are not harvesting. We allow them to disperse because we’ve been ignorant of their value.” (Buckminster Fuller)

One particle can’t make a huge impact (small and fragile), however a huge dust cloud can! In order to change something, we need to cooperate. “intelligence directs individuals alone; their union is subject to the laws of matter … immaterial minds cannot be linked together except by making them submit to the laws of matter.” (The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation, Rancière, 1991)

Studio Dust is based on these two pillars: research through material with cooperation as its base. The material is always the starting point in the design process. It results in material design, material research or attempts to reveal new qualities in the material by creating a new narrative around the material.

Dust provides a narrative

1) “From dust to dust”. Everything is created from dust and will return to dust. We are created from the same particles as all the other elements. Everything is connected: past, present, future. I am dust!

2) Dust can show other invisible forces even through of its own intangible nature. It shows rays of light and currents in the wind and water. Dust reminds me of the importance of these natural resources. The capability of showing these invisible forces makes me question if this is a role art/design can play in complex issues? Can design show invisible but elementary forces within a context?

3) Dust destroys and disrupts; it annoys. Dust can destroy ecosystems, but at the same time has the potential of new life because of the microbes that are attached to it. So after the dust has destroyed the old system, it also gives life to a new system. Is this the power of design? Can design critically question and disrupt a system but at the same time have the potential of creating an alternative?

4) The dust in the air has a similar visual appearance as the stars in the galaxy, despite that this bridges a giant spectrum in size. Dust particles remind me that the earth itself is nothing more then one particle in the universe. What is the potential for design to be able to diverge, to get a new perspective on things?

5) One particle can’t make a huge impact towards a change, however a huge dust cloud can! In order to change something, we need to cooperate. Cooperation in a dust cloud is a dynamic process, without one ruler. It’s an organic responsive system. Is this an inspiration for finding new modes of cooperation?

6) The dust in a cloud is a collective made up of a lot of different materials (sand, carbon, salt). This diversity creates its essence. Is design a mono-culture or does it potentially have a wide variety as well?

7) Over a period of time, a cloud of dust loses a lot of particles and gains new ones. It will have changed in shape due to the currents in the wind and moved over new territories. Is it still the same cloud? What constitutes its identity? This makes me question: what constitutes the identity of design, when designers are taking new roles and are overarching other disciplines?