Mantle
Mantle is a contemporary home shrine that offers a space to de-stress. It was designed in collaboration with Professor Tracie Barber, as part of the Hybrid Commission at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, 2021.
The Mantle looks at the opportunity for future humans to be able to refocus and not to get overwhelmed by negativity. The brief asked us to consider domestic life in the future - where humans are faced with wicked problems such as climate change, overpopulation, media fatigue, and poor air quality to name a few.
We wanted to explore creating value without using heavy materiality, as we believe sustainability is about doing more with less. With this type of object it is tempting to use lots of material to convey importance (stone for example) although by pursuing very light weight construction we have created another type of value.
Mantle is made of carbon fibre, cedar, dacron and marble, with a resin figure by Shou Lao of Longevity.
Photography by @zanwimberley
"I think looking at this opportunity in a domestic life context allows people to be able to do big things in the world. Why?
Encourage them to slow down and to be more thoughtful
To consume less, to be less impulsive and more rational
Encourage them to be less consumerist but more materialist
Encourage them to care for the things they love
To ritualize and re-love the objects they own, to pay more attention"
—Andrew Simpson
