QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What’s your name?
Kristina Schultz and Johan Lindberg
Where were you born?
Kristina: in Stockholm. Johan: in Åseda, on the border between the Kingdom of Glass and the Kingdom of Furniture.
How old are you?
Kristina: 35
Johan: 40
Where do you live?
Marieholm in Eslöv Municipality.
Education?
Kristina: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Design Academy Eindhoven and Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design. Johan: Beckmans College of Design, Design Academy Eindhoven and Konstfack
We actually met when we took a preparatory course at Beckmans evening school one autumn 11 years ago.
What do you do?
Design is always about allowing ideas, opinions and tastes to take shape, and within our practice we use design to explore various social issues. We are interested in the implications of being human and we like to explore issues that touch on meaning in various ways. Concurrently with our practice we run the art gallery Konsthall Marieholm, which explores how art and culture can engage broader groups.
Your favourite place?
Our home studio or the train going somewhere.
Favourite material?
Something that is new to us, black, and difficult to work with.
Favourite designers?
Different periods are coloured by different influences. It is interesting to look back on what which ones shaped our choices of direction then and which ones feel relevant now. Here is an alphabetical, non-chronological list of oldies and goodies plus new favourites: Cheryl Akner-Koler, Faye Toogood, Enzo Mari, Formafantasma, Front, Jeanne Opgenhaffen, Kader Attia,Laura Lima,Onomatopee, Samir Alj Fält, Sanna Lindholm, Sarah Kaye Rodden, Sara Sjöbäck, Song Dong, Uglycute, Ulrica Hydman-Vallien, Unfoldand Xandra van der Eijk.
Favourite colour?
Kristina: Orange and pink together, otherwise blue. Johan: From graphite to India ink.
What inspires you?
Kristina: Marieholm – a place that gives me new perspectives. Johan: Unexpected details.
Your vision/business idea?
In our projects we always produce three parts: portrayals/objects, documentation and experience/knowledge. We regard our role as generating content, which can then be distributed via various channels to a recipient.
Biggest mistake?
That we didn’t leave Stockholm earlier!
Dream project?
Our own projects always begin in something we want to explore in depth. It is very rewarding to be able to work with what interests us. At the same time, our projects often become lengthy and cumbersome, and therefore we often want to have quick projects that become something immediately.
Next project?
The project Yrke: Träningsdatagenererare (Occupation: Fitness data generator) is just starting up and we are doing everything from writing code and establishing a framework for a work method, to scenography and costumes. We want to explore a fictitious scenario in which the role of creator has been completely merged with a larger, totally comprehensive automation process. In this scenario, the occupation of designer has been dissolved, and instead our new role is to supply fitness data to a system based on artificial intelligence. By creating fitness data manually, our experiences and hands-on knowledge of design work are slowly transferred to the superior system. This intended outcome places us in a context with an inferior role, and accordingly offers experiences about what a future involving a displaced hierarchy between human and machine (A.I.) might involve.
At the art gallery, work is being done on planning the exhibition “5 sekunder konst” (Five seconds of art), a series of installations for passengers on the local trains passing by.
The Designer of the Month is a series of portraits intended to showcase local talents with links to the Öresund region and also to present an expanded view of design as a concept. It could be an individual designer, a group, or a manufacturer. The list of design areas is long and includes everything from furniture design, industrial design and architecture to fashion, illustration, the moving image etc.
