Second Life
Overview
The shore of the River Thames exposes fragments colouring the stone beach. Second Life transforms these into modern and accessible tableware giving antiques a new life and bringing their stories back to the people of London. Just like William Morris said, “The Democracy of Arts will be established”.
Duration: 3 months
Individual
Royal College of Art - 2019
Tutors: Dr. Robert Philips & Delfina Fantini
Second Life Cup & Packaging
Second Life in Context
Second Life Cup in Context
Second Life cup & plate
Video
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Short clip on how Second Life pieces are crafted.
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Whats NEXT for Second Life
Looking for a sponsor who can push the project to a new level and potentially launch it!
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Follow the progress in my Instagram page: @maria.rmvz
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Process
- Jacqui Pearce - Senior Finds Specialist at MOLA
“You’ve got a snapshot of London life from the late 17th Centruy through to the early 19th Century”
Background & aim
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The shore of the River Thames is one of London’s greatest museums. Low tide exposes a realm on history; fragments colour the stone beach waiting to tell the story of the people of
London.
Second life democratizes these stories giving antiques new life by transforming fragments found on the shore into modern and affordable tableware.
Provinence
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Fragments are all mudlarked (found) in the foreshore of the river Thames.
- Ted Sandling , London in Fragments
“Mudlarking is a way of getting in touch with London’s past ”
Research
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Visits to museums, fairs and experts along with some field research help shape the project.
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Experiments & Tests
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Material exploration, size testing, kintsugi experimentation, joinery exploration, and user testing.
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Classifying
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Archeologist and MOLA (Museum of London Archeology) helped me classify, date, and identify all the pieces found at the Thames River. This was key for me to understand what I was holding and be able to share this knowledge in the most accurate and meaningful way through my tableware.
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Prototypes & Making
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Images of the making and prototypes that went wrong. These helped determine and define a final process that was reliable and worked to avoid and solve these. See the process bellow.
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Materials & Packaging
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The materials and techniques used, showcase the fusion between the past and the present, using traditional techniques with new materials.
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The stackable packaging shows the location and details from the embedded fragment (backed up by Museum of London Archeology), highlighting the importance of provenance and giving context to the user with information on the inside and the outside.
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Final
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Final results of Second Life in-studio and in context.
