Through the ‘Alternatives from the Unexpected’ interview series, GLUE aims to work with curated participants to go deeper into the work they make, to show the importance of the stories that have not yet been heard, and to give these creators an additional stage to tell them.
On March 11, Pakhuis de Zwijger hosted the first edition of ‘Alternatives from the Unexpected’. Four designers, Fleur Ouwerkerk, Nora Taher, Kurina Sohn and Floor Merjenburgh were invited to talk about the work they do, what they engage in and what fascinates them. Marsha Simon was the evening’s moderator and connected the designers’ diverse stories.
The interview started with the jewelry of Fleur Ouwerkerk who makes it from synthetic hair because she believes everyone should be able to enjoy hair, even if you don’t have it yourself. For more than a decade, Fleur has been exploring hair and the relationship between hair and people. ‘Before I’d call it a fascination, but at the moment I’d call it an obsession. I feel like I could go on with this for the rest of my life’.
The second speaker was Nora Taher, who made a call for more “cross cultural dialogue,” that we need to come closer together. Many cultures coexist, and all have their own language. Not only a spoken language, but also a visual language. “We need to find ways to combine those and to let those all be heard, and not to have one be heard more than the other, or to have authority over the other. In her work, Nora tries to facilitate this dialogue in various ways.
The third speaker was Kurina Sohn, who talked about one of her immersive installations, in which she collaborated with AI to create a visualization of nature, the deep sea and the creatures that live there. ‘Ultimately I just want people to understand that we’re all here together, and we are all sharing this place (earth) and that we are all connected one way or the other.’
The final speaker of the evening was Floor Merjenburgh, who makes objects from ceramics and shapes them in a special way; by dropping it as they come out of just the mold. ‘I just felt like the material had something else to offer’ and more shapes that I myself can’t make. That’s why I started working with the material to see what it can give me, instead of pushing it in a shop that I want’.
About Alternatives from the Unexpected
Change is the word of this time, change in politics, change in behaviour, change in how we look at the world. But what is needed to change a system? Where do we start? And who starts? Alternatives from the Unexpected is the name of this talk, but also the name of the exhibition of designers that were curated to take part in GLUE 2025. Change may come from the wing beat of a butterfly, and from designers who challenge the expected. Around the table we have four designers with unexpected ideas: Fleur Ouwerkerk, Nora Taher, Kurina Sohn and Floor Merjenburgh.
The next editions will take place April 24, May 21 and June 10.
About GLUE
GLUE is a four days design-route in Amsterdam for designers, the general public, architects, brands, labels, showrooms, galleries, academies and other colleagues. GLUE amsterdam connected by design connects all locations and provides a substantive and attractive program for colleagues and the public. Aside from the design-route in September, GLUE organises community meetings to connect the creative sector year-round.
Report by Anne Pieterse, GLUE amsterdam
