The exhibition ‘No Play Time,’ at the Huidenclub in Rotterdam, presented a unique dialogue between the soft, intimate textiles of artist Hala Tawil and the striking, conceptual furniture designs of Groovido.
Together, their works create a stylized teenage bedroom that invited visitors to explore the intersection of personal memory, identity, and material culture.
Hala Tawil brings her expertise in digital collage, rendering, and illustration to life through a series of soft furnishings, including carpets, tapestries, and a duvet. Tawil’s work delves into the subtle alienation of modern life, transforming ordinary domestic spaces into mysterious vignettes. Her inspiration is drawn from the familiar—the rooms, furniture, and objects that surround us daily—yet her work probes deeper, questioning the relationship between self and the material world in an increasingly digital age. Though her pieces are digitally rendered, they are printed on flat surfaces, imbued with a painterly quality. These strange, dreamlike arrangements challenge viewers to interpret lost narratives, evoking an emotional response to the seemingly mundane.
In contrast, Groovido, a furniture design studio known for its bold and experimental approach, introduces the hard furniture of the space: a bed, a chair, and shelves from their Diorama Collection. Groovido’s work blends traditional craftsmanship with contemporary cultural influences, drawing inspiration from the gaming world and bringing those elements into physical reality. Their pieces are at once playful and archetypal, reimagining everyday objects like desks and lamps through a glistening, fantastical lens. By incorporating symbols and aesthetics from virtual realms, Groovido creates an immersive experience that bridges the gap between digital and real-world environments.
The juxtaposition of Tawil’s soft, contemplative textiles with Groovido’s bold, structured designs generates a dynamic tension within the exhibition, representing the contrast between two distinct yet intertwined narratives—that of a teenage boy and a girl. ‘No Play Time’ is an immersive exhibition that invited the viewer to reconstruct these narratives through their own personal lens, evoking the vivid and subjective experience of adolescence. The result was a nostalgic yet forward-thinking exploration of identity, memory, and the passage of time, where each visitor became an active participant in shaping the story of the space and of the two teenagers.
About the Huidenclub
Situated in a repurposed industrial building, the Huidenclub is a new experimental space dedicated to the production and presentation of contemporary culture. The Huidenclub, holding its name from its original function as a tannery, is conceived as a platform to express a variety of voices and narratives addressing urgent contemporary topics. Alongside an active public programme of exhibitions, performances, talks and screenings, the Huidenclub is also a workspace bringing together artists, designers, and entrepreneurs to form a creative ecosystem.
Photography: Michele Margot
