Sarohm in workshop

Misuse - exposition

2012-02-22T17:48:00.004-08:00

i have joined up with Zvika Markfeld in order to create a living mess in the ramat gan museum in israel.

here is a preview of some of our tests towards the exhibition (the first one in a while)
believe me, it's as fun as it looks :)

and this is the invite, if you happen to drop by

MusraraMix - here we come !

2012-02-09T02:35:00.000-08:00

these days i am venturing on a new spectacular journey towards the Musrara Mix festival in Jerusalem.
Musrara mix is a video art, installation and performance festival that takes place on the streets, private yards, houses and two local art galleries in the Musrara neighborhood in Jerusalem.
so before we 'mess it up' i wanted to give you a glimpse of this amazingly beautiful part of jerusalem

despite being encient and calm at first glans is as far away from a stand still as imaginably possible...

more updates soon enough...

Show&Tell - unveiled !

2011-11-23T13:26:00.001-08:00

well after a short but intense process we got to present our Show&Tell glove in the 2011 Google Developers Day in Tel-Aviv in front of around 2000 eager israeli developers :)

The Show&Tell Glove Translates sign language into written (and spoken) text. the idea actually came to me while thinking of what would be the best solutions for future wearable computer to be used.
What might be new innovative platforms of communication that can integrate physical and virtual communications skills. how can we communicate online without being isolated offline.

The Show&Tell glove is actually, more then anything, a poetic way to demonstrate how a tool used by communicativly impaired can be used by the rest of us to enhance out communication skills ! nice ha ?

We even got some nice press coverage on the israeli channel 2 evening new broadcast !

Show&Tell - the sequel

2011-10-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

so as we are closing fast on our grand finale i thought it would be appropriate if i show some progress. so there you have it ! cool ha ?

Show&Tell - baby steps

2011-09-07T05:18:00.000-07:00

well, here is a new one - instead of stating the end goal of a project and showing the way there ill keep it all under wraps and unveil it one step at a time. ill just hint that im exploring new grounds, with a team of professional cool geeks and that its a project in collaboration with the all mighty google.

any guesses ?

HitTheRoad - out of hiding

2011-06-27T02:52:00.000-07:00

last friday i had a first 'sneaky preview' of my HitTheRoad toy car (as a part of my MisChief toy series). feel free to peep...

PechaKucha Amsterdam (a blast from the past)

2011-06-26T17:14:00.000-07:00

well, it has been a while but i stumbled upon my Pecha Kucha presentation at the Mediamatic in amsterdam. so this is me sharing some pleasant memories...

always good to start off with a nice plate of hummus

and what better way to end...

Duty/Free in amsterdam

2011-06-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

these last few months i have been busy with curating a new show - Duty/Free
i was honored to be invited by the Applied Arts department in the Sandberg Institute
(which i graduated from just a year ago )
to curate this years graduation show
come one come all !!!

here is a sneak peek into the layout, and the clear reference to the invite...

ReCollections - musrara mix

2011-05-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

just came back from the holy city within the holy land - jerusalem
took part in a colorful 3 day festival called Musrara Mix in the streets, yards and houses of Musrara neighborhood. i had to interventions there under the title of 'ReCollection' which was meant to highlight the visitors experience and share it with others -

1. FlashMob - visitors were invited to create their own little LED throwies (my own twist on them to be exact) and stick them in spots around the neighborhood they believe deserve 'special attention'.
the funny thing was that during the day after kids would collect al the LED's from the streets, so we were environmental with no special effort !

2. PostIt - visitors were invited to use the pictures they took around the festival, print them on a postcard, write down some short thoughts about the experience and we would later on sent for them.
did you ever know there is such a thing as Mail Art ?

ill post some more pix soon !

Pièce de Résistance - pop quiz

2011-05-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

so, what is in these two suspicious looking hazardous bottles ? (answer)

what is this guy doing ? (answer)

where the hell did we get this gun ? (answer)

why would two nice girls paint a window white ? (answer)

and what do all of these have in common ?

take a look at some pictures from the opening of my new show -

Pièce de Résistance

objects&stories

2011-02-18T19:58:00.000-08:00

in the last month i have started to work on a new exhibition in the Mediamatic in Amsterdam. the exhibition will be about objects&stories (including my StoryStore amogst others) opening on the 16th of april (more details to follow). you can have a look at some thoughts along the way here, enjoy.

i wish u a merry christmas x3 and happy new year

2010-12-23T04:49:00.000-08:00

SiteSpecific - tryouts

2010-12-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

im working on a new guerilla tourist memorabilia or a street DIY elongated coin souvenir.

its was a super cold night in amsterdam when i set off on my late night adventure
with my mysterious accomplice...

its was ment to look like the symbol of amsterdam

well its far from perfect but its a step on the way

but you can observe the actual instructable i created
and even vote for me !

Mischief / HitTheRoad

2010-11-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

a new toy from the mischief collection is in the making - the HitTheRoad toy car. following the Wear&Tear doll and the DooDoo doll. hopefully to be finished in the coming month...

a bit thanks to Ulrike Rehm for all her help

MisUse /seks is meer - workshop

2010-10-29T06:58:00.000-07:00

a short while ago i was fortunate enough to conduct a MisUse workshop for students at the Sandberg institute in amsterdam, the project was in cooperation with the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven and a project called - seks is meer (sex is more). the results from the workshop are currebtly presented in the Van Abbe Museum throught Dutch Design Week in einndhoven.

special thanks to the participants: Aliki van der Kruijs, Ulrike Rehm, Charley Reijnders, Marc Barreda, Marijke Neppelenbroek, Jennifer de Jonge and Lyske Gais.

more pictures of the process and final results in my MisUse blog

GuerillaGreen - pits amazing journey

2010-09-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

yesterday we had the most amazing day. finally putting 'pits amazing journey' edition of the GuerillaGreen initiative out there during a big happening in Zaandam.

first here are some images from the book,
amazingly illustrated by Kelly de Meyer
translated by Diane Bos

(full version soon to be downloadable)

and now the real action.... when fantasy meet reality...

kids of all ages came to help pit embark on his wonderful journey toward warmer pastures

the ability of some kids just to 'let go' is not something to be taken for granted. selflessly committing to help a seed in distress...

sadly we were positioned in the only place in the netherlands without a nearby canal. so the boat making participants has to restrain to a children's pool

when i say kids of all ages i mean kids of all ages ....

you can find more pictures of the event here

A non redundant wedding

2010-09-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

pictures that were sent to me by a couple that recently got married with my 'redundant' rings.
beautiful pictures taken in their parents farm house in germany where the wedding took place...

GuerillaGreen - Kinder Edition

2010-08-19T05:24:00.000-07:00

these days me and jose are preparing for the 2nd edition of our GuerillaGreen project, here is a sneak peak into our latest experiments in making seeds sail & fly.....

the actual event is going to take place on the 25th of Sep - bring lots of kids !

A leap of faith

2010-08-01T11:02:00.000-07:00

One of my most recent works - my girlfriend's engagement ring ! concealed inside a golden case lies a 40 point diamond - i call it 'leap of faith'. and she has !

MassMess - paper installation

2010-05-25T15:53:00.000-07:00

especially for our show in china we designed a paper installation which invites the audience to take part in folding paper parts which can then be combined into different structures. again following the same idea we have presented in our work, the many banal singulars can be combined with a creative 'spark' to a unique few.

we could have never anticipated the success of the installation amongst the chinese...

MassMess in china

2010-05-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

As part of the exhibition 'power of copying' david krings and myself exhibited our MassMess collection in the new museum of Xuzhou, China. china & Xuzhou were amazing we where treated like royalty and are already making plans to go back...

PowerOfCopy

2010-05-05T02:01:00.001-07:00

MassMess in Object Rotterdam

2010-02-07T18:32:00.000-08:00

well, today we broke down the si module exhibition in object Rotterdam . me and David showed there the start of our first mass mess collection for this year. it was a lot of fun...

we got some interest from different magazines such as wallpaper magazine, beaux art magazine
and home magazine. next stop - china !

suStain - initial tryouts

2010-01-08T10:36:00.000-08:00

me and naomi have started to work on suStain - an idea of creating shirt prints colored by household staining materials and natural colors using the batik printing technique. when you buy a shirt you also by the print template and color recipes. as naomi lives in cork (ireland) we took advantage of a short stop in amsterdam to play a bit with the idea. more coming soon...

on the table - soy souce, wine, olive oil, coffee & juice.

MassMess (work in progress)

2009-12-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

well, the Mass is almost here but the mess is not so far behind. we are still working on new stuff and enjoying the process. i hope you can also appreciate the visuals. it will be all presented during the 'object rotterdam' design fair in February, stay tuned...

MassMess-update !

2009-12-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

well, the work never stops. here are some new try outs we are working on.
the official opening is going to be on the 17th of december......

enjoy !

MassMess (x masspecial)

2009-09-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

I joined up with david krings to work together on a project in two stages. on stage one with joined up with the 'black pudding' label and pantar industries in a project that aims to upcycle materials

from the pantar magazine (a warehouse collecting second hand material from all of Amsterdam)

and create more work for the workers of pantar.

here are some of our try outs till now - this is a lamp made out of rubber bands taken out of tin can wast. easy to assemble, and still keeps its messy looks.

these are made of leather belts, we are not really sure what it will end up being but we have high hopes for it......

and this... well you will just have to wait and see....

there is an exhibition planed in Amsterdam in a months time (10/12/09) i feel this could be a starting of a beautiful friendship.....

Bauhaus museum - berlin

2009-08-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

as a result of winning the DMY fair prize last June, we where invited to present out pavilion again in the Bauhaus museum in Berlin. i presented my 'user friendly' fallding chair and my 'by product' effortless lamp-shades.

you can also take a look at the by-product instructable i made - here

or look at some more pictures from the exhibition - here

GuerillaGreen - in action !

2009-07-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

we finally did it !

last saturday we (jose and i) invaded the shell garden in the north of amsterdam

with our guerilla artillery !

first we made a lot of seed balls (ammunition)

we had a catapult (well, actually its called a trebuchet) which could launch the seeds away !

we had a (sort of) pinata which had a sack of a seed mixture the using a hammer could be hit around while the seeds fall out of the sacks bottom.

and we also had a crazy water rocket ! (pictures soon) that launched those seed balls to kingdom come ! with that fighting spirit we spread a lot of seeds around amsterdam noord !

it was a fun (but sadly no so sunny) day

waiting patiently for our second edition.......

some more pictures

TradeMark - street exhibition

2009-06-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

while I was in Israel a while ago I had have the chance to take part in a street exhibition along the 'Mesilat Yesharim' street in the south of Tel-Aviv as a part as part of a festival celebrating the uniqueness of the Shapira neighborhood (in which i use to live). it was a great honour and an opportunity for me to re exhibit an old project dedicated to Shapira.

the suzany is my idea of creating a 'trade mark' for the neighbourhood in order to manifest its cultural and ethnical identity. it was created to be posted beside the businesses along the street.

this is me and bentzy the hairdresser whose shop i put the suzany in front

more about the project

more about the street exhibition (sorry but most of it is in Hebrew)

i might start working on a 'trade mark' for a shopping street in the north of Amsterdam

DMY 2009

2009-06-11T15:56:00.000-07:00

just got back from the DMY fair in Berlin where we exhibited our project :
Domestic Making - house of possibilities
during the days of the fair we exhibited in two locations one was in the youngsters fair in the ARENA Berlin and the other in a typical Berlin flat at the HeinzMinki complex.

at the HeinzMinki i presented a piece from my by product project

In the fair i exhibited my user friendly chair & my side effect chandelier

i guess this gives an idea why i called it a user friendly chair (and meant you need to get friends with it and know it well before you can properly use it)

I also created an installation called 'home&away' which was part of the project pavilion.
two wall where made out of five layers of perforated wall paper. visitors could take away parts of the wall, and then either take them as a souvenir or stamp them with a postcard template and send them back home...

At the end of the fair we were lucky enough to win the DMY prize !
you can find more info and pix of the Domestic Making project:

the Domestic Making blog
more pictures

masspecial

2009-06-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

a few years ago i ran a design workshop at a club for mentally disabled adults. it was an amazing experience. during the workshop we tried to explore different ways of creating. of expressing uniqueness in a system.

we made an experiment with cups. the cups were passed through the guys and each one had about 30 sec to paint his piece before the cup was passed on. At the end we had a surprisingly homogenise series of cups

this project will be my inspiration for a project I'm planing to present in Beijing in December

a project in which i will collaborate with 'pantar' industries to create a new masspecial product

more soon to come...

DARE - Mischief dolls

2009-03-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

As promised I was exploring the apparent innocence of children. I made two dolls and gave them to two wonderful girls - Ela and Aviv to play with my toys.

the first doll i call a Wear&Tear doll. when you get it its white and plain and in order to make it lively and your own you are welcome to cut holes in it and take out colourful fabric pieces that are embedded in the dolls body.

Ela named it 'king luey'

To aviv i gave my dodo dall, which comes with a set of prelaminated clothing but is also open to other cut out or drawn clothing items

no name was given

GuerillaGreen initiative

2009-03-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

following the growing of interest in the north of Amsterdam and the development of the area i was commissioned by YD+I to take part in an event celebrating urban green and the opening of a garden own by the shell cooperation that has been closed for the last 70 years to the public. this coming June. i have started the guerrilla green initiative, exciting updates are soon to come.

in the first event (out of a series on four) we will be spreading seed balls i various erratic ways
we will be using various seed spreaders as a catapult, a water rocket, a pinata and slingshots. a bit like nature just more fun

here is a small try out we did for the catapult, practice makes perfect !

here you can view some inspirational pictures

DARE - MisUse#1,2,3

2008-12-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

The first step in realising the DARE project was taking every day objects and misusing them in order to create experiment for people to get involved and dare themselves to try.

i chose matches, cookie cutters and a ceramic turning wheel to start with

in an exhibition in the Waterland museum in Purmarent i exhibited three videos of myself trying out the objects and inviting others to do so themselves (at their own risk)

with the matches i created a device to try and tempt people to light a match within the museum

this is what would have happened if somebody had the balls...

Nobody really dared to light fire in the museum

with the cookie cutters i created a device for creating 'temporary tattoos'

and finally, the most popular device was the ceramic turning wheel that surprisingly feels much faster when you are actually on it - believe me !

there is no doubt that children are the last to hesitate and the first to try
i think my next step will be to experiment with kids toys !

ByProduct

2008-12-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

You might have noticed that every time you use the dryer you get a thin layer of fiber at the bottom of the machine - its actually felt !

Well i have been trying to shape that felt into a ready made lampshade.

So that every time you dry your clothes you'll get a lampshade as a by product.

with the help of my friend in the Laundromat i am experimenting with my idea

Will update soon...

HouseProud - update (x window shopping)

2008-12-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the Dutch window decoration we matched 23 designers and 16 residents to join together to redesign redesign street facing windows and rethink the public and private, the inside and outside within the families and in the urban space.

We started off by recruiting families by hanging invitations on their door handles

We chose families in a nice neighbourhood to form together our public urban exhibition

Visitor could walk through the streets and see the finished windows during this years Dutch design week in Eindhoven. here are some small examples

We also curated a small exhibition space with a documentation of the projecs process

At the end of the project we had a big dinner with the designers and families

an article about the project in design.nl
more pictures

HapHazard

2008-05-14T14:24:00.000-07:00

I am exploring the boundaries of electronics ; Trying to expand the experience of a light switch beyond the binary on/off options.

This lighting object uses a very simple idea, a number of LED’s put into a transparent ball with a battery. When you play around with the ball, the entangling LED’s create random electric circuits and light up in various combinations.

The playfulness of the object and the ‘magical’ effect of the surprising

lights turning on & off are magnetising.

Window shopping - drive by shooting.

2008-02-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

A typical Dutch house has usually a big window facing the street, for all to see. These show windows are decorated in many ways with a couple of motives in common.

While I was shooting these 'display windows' I found that in most cases as weird as it may sound people don't like their windows photographed (except for the one with the shoe that was very happy of the attention).

Next year at the 'Dutch design week' (during October) I would like to do a project involving designers taking over the windows and with the family redesigning it.

It would be a good chance to question the whole idea, motivations and potential of that 'show off' window, and also to get feedback from innocent bystanders.

Who ever is interesting in taking a part in this project is free to contact me .

you can view some more inspirational pictures here

DARE

2008-02-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

I was seventeen, standing on the edge of a three story high balcony, my hands were holding on to the rail while my body was leaning forward suspended in mid-air. I let go my grip. (luckily a friend was fast to grab my shirt and later on pull me back up).

Throughout our lives Eros and Tantos coexist and struggle. Since Adam and Eve the temptation of risk and our dared curiosity plays an important role in both high and low points of life. Our inherent fragile existence and inevitable demise paradoxically push us to push our limits, to dare.

Children have no problem in taking risks or putting themselves in harm's- way because they are not aware of the consequences. Only at a later age, in which we are well acquainted with the reality and risks that surround us, are ready to confront them. In many cultures maturity rituals are associated with overcoming fear and being able to take a brave but calculated risk. Only after the soon to become

mature is able to look fear in the eye can he be accepted as a full member of the adult community.
Today we are doing our best to distance our-selves from any risks or pain; we are making ourselves insurance proof; we are getting numb, disconnected from our senses and not able to feel for us or identify with the pain of others. we are confined to second hand, digital, virtual danger thrills through movies, computer games, role plays and theme parks. we never really take a risk, never face consequences, therefore we are using less and less our prerogative of real choice.

The replacement of the long forgotten maturity rituals are small, rebellious adolescence pranks and stunts. teenagers dare themselves to go beyond the parental boundaries and society's laws and conventions. Through history some of these same daring experiments have at times grown to some of the most interesting movements which dared the whole adult society to re-evaluate its way of life.

Today in the far ends of society you can still find people who dare. Many of them couldn't find their place inside the consensus and where forced to look for it elsewhere, others had been disappointed by society's false promise of a good life and act upon their rage. the need to express their position is manifested through clothing, different means of body mutilation and many cases crossing the threshold of law and order.

i am interested in researching risk, pain and self mutilation in the past and present, the psychological and sociological aspects of our ability to create and build as well as self-destruct. i would like to pursue two different angles; one from within our society, what is preventing us from daring what could counteract our growing numbness and what are existing alternatives, if any. i will also be exploring the world across the threshold, meeting people who have decided to not take part in mainstream society and who have paid the price for it.

I am aiming to create objects that can provoke risk taking, that can stimulate re-evaluation of our life and routine. objects that contain the notion of action and counter action, of cause and effect, of consequence. objects that dare you to use them.

its wont be easy - sort of a manifesto

2008-02-19T16:21:00.000-08:00

1. Dissonance

Everything has become so easy. We would like to grumble about our hard lives and our big problems but in truth we live a pretty easy life. Technology has made our social interactions and our daily tasks almost effortless. We travel easily between continents, most of us work sitting down the whole day. When we get back home after a "hard days work" stopping on the way in one of many supermarkets buying a worldly variety of foods and products we have entertainment at the tip off our fingers waiting for us to zap between our endless options.

The only sign of "hardship" in today’s life is the choice between all the many attractive possibilities that are seducing us in any given moment; hundreds of food products, electronics, radio stations and pension plans. The consumer’s endless choice is the highlight of capitalist success and our alleged promise for a better future. After all if we are not happy, it could only be our own fault, we just made the wrong choices.

Designers play an important role in this world. We design user friendly products, make "streamline" shapes and make sure that our "user experience" is pleasant and effortless. While scientists are making an effort to cure diseases we are concentrated on styling and statues symbols. It has been said that design is all about solving problems. Maybe we should reassess our problemless perception.

During the course of history, revolutions, inspiring artwork and many other cultural assets had arose from situations of distress, restrictions and oppression. These situations have always incited the creative, free thinking, and inventive people to react. They came up with new solutions, with revolutionary ideas and a dream of a better utopian world.

I believe that design has a key role in today’s world, that designers have the potential to stimulate people despite the numbness today’s culture evokes. We can do that not by solving the consumer’s problems but by creating them. Not by creating catchy, easy on the eye, mild colored shapes but by giving them 'a hard time', creating cultural, political and social oriented objects that reflect the tension, conflict and complex relationships that are all around us. We should leave "room for thought", the means to be inspired, open questions, loose ends.

2. Resonance

In a parallel existence live hard working, hard core people enduring lives of hardship. They are on the outskirts of society. They are no ones consumer targets; their special needs are not acknowledged.
Technology and design have always been means of empowerment as a status symbol or as means of supporting your desired way of life, desires that are out of reach for these Individuals and communities.

Disillusioned out of life’s promises; some turn against the normality and the social structures and rebel against the consensus, while others keep on believing that they are in the wrong.

I believe these people hold the keys to a surprising new perspective on life and a whole variety of views ideas and images. Paradoxically while struggling to survived and be accepted those 'outcasts' have freed themselves from conforming with society's conventions. They are true creative subjectives. In cooperating with them we can challenge our conventions, while also giving them the acceptance, pride and gratitude they so eagerly crave.

3. Provenance
The chase after fashion has left the whole design profession entangled in its own stylish alienated bubble, a bit like what has been happening with contemporary art during the last few decades. Design has the privilege and the responsibility to make a difference. There is no better time to start then the present.