The exhibition ‘Desert Cast: Towards an Identity’ is an exploration of existing design references and motifs found across Kuwaiti housing projects that have been reapplied in conjunction with local craft in an attempt to create an authentic design identity that acknowledges the past and present. The work of three Kuwait-based designers – Jassim AlNashmi, Kawther Al Saffar and Ricardas Blazukas – ‘Desert Cast’ was first showcased through the Abwab initiative during Dubai Design Week in 2018.
The first iteration presented a series of stools that analysed the replication of the classical Greco-Roman architectural elements that typically adorn Kuwaiti homes, in what the designers deem as a disingenuous sense of luxury. This contributes to the country’s struggle in developing a context-based design identity, which in addition to borrowed classical elements also includes motifs that are an “orientalist, overgeneralisation of Middle Eastern culture”.
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Identity.
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This story is from the December 2020 edition of Identity.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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