Christien Meindertsma: When research and design go hand in hand

Central Image Source: zeeuwsmuseum.nl

Remaking, alternative raw materials, a turn to underappreciated materials and the deeper relationship between object and consumer are some of the practices that define Christien Meindertsma’s highly meticulous work. By combining research and design, the Dutch designer proves that anything that surrounds our everyday life can be used in a proper way to be saved from the waste bin. So, in the books, Checked baggage (2004) and PIG 05049 (2007) -the former was actually part of her thesis at Design Academy Eindhoven- she diligently records objects and their former and subsequent use. The award-winning PIG 05049, demonstrates how much little we know of the origin of the raw materials used to make pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, biodiesel etc. The highly detailed recording brings to light, once again, the circular pattern in the manufacture of the products and demonstrates the total exploitation of every part of the animal to create an object, whose origin, for many of us, is unknown.

Excerpt from PIG 05049 | Image source: freight.cargo.site

A unique approach to fabric

In 2016 and in collaboration with natural fibre specialist Enkev, she designs Flax Chair*. Even though it seems simple in all aspects, the chair is made from a combination of entirely natural materials. The combined layers of woven flax textile and dry-needle felted flax resulted in a final product that does not lack in stability, volume or texture and at the same time complies with the principles of sustainability due to its biodegradable materials. In addition, despite the complexity of the construction and materials, the product is affordable, winning the bet of considering the needs of the consumer.

Flax Chair | Image source: tlmagazine.com

The research project Fiber Market (2016) – a collaboration between Wieland Textiles and Valvan Baling Systems to build a machine capable of recognizing textile fibres and classifying clothes based on their material – was part of the 2016 exhibition Fear and Love, during which 1000 woollen sweaters were scanned. Meindertsma, thanks to the machine, was able to compare the results of the scans with the information written on the sweater labels, noticing many inaccuracies about the raw materials, which is problematic when it comes to recycling non-recyclable materials unbeknownst to consumers.

Fibre Market at London Design Museum (2016) | Image source: image.architonic.com

Meindertsma's long-standing occupation with upcycling various raw materials and the fabric production process does not stop here. In 2020, in the book De Zachte Stad, the designer highlights the potential of wool that comes from Rotterdam sheep flocks. Having spent two years researching this particular wool, which was often considered to be of inferior quality, she proved that wool is capable of many uses beyond conventional weaving, helping to reduce the waste created by its many years of accumulation.

Sharing Elements

«I’m really interested in how we are all connected, and where things come from. So sometimes by taking things apart you can find out what its ingredients are, what its ­essence is. I see connections in everything all the time, like: Where does it come from? Where does it go? Who made this for me? What is its impact?». Meindertsma’s words are mirrored in her project for Dutch Design Week 2021, Sharing Elements since her route from objects to people now becomes clear. The installation (in collaboration with Joel Gethin Lewis and Reza Ali) was inspired by questions like: what am I made of? where do the elements that constitute me come from and where do they go? how do I relate to all these elements of matter surrounding me? The result was an impressive installation that allows visitors to visualise the elements that constitute them through a combination of digital and analog media. Each viewer could be reflected as an interactive cloud of the elements that compose him. But the highly impressive and original installation did not stop there since it was accompanied by a parallel exhibition depicting the elements in our body, their function as well as their availability on earth.

Sharing Elements (By Dutch Design Week) | Image source: design.udk-berlin.de

Her latest project, at Fries Museum, is Fertile Grounds. The work started in 2022 and it is a seminar of sorts concerning the exploitation of Dutch peatlands to further develop ongoing experimentations in the field of paludiculture, an alternative agricultural practice that favours the rewetting of peatlands and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Meindertsma’s exhibition/seminar is addressed to anyone who is interested in combining new types of agriculture, more friendly and beneficial for the environment, combining effective design with its practical application and utilization, while opening the field to the general public.

*Flax Chair is exhibited at the National Gallery of Victoria and Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. 

Sources/ Further Reading

S. Dorkenwald. The documentary designer. From: the-nomad-magazine.com

More on Christien Meindertsma’s work at: christienmeindertsma.com/