Google her name, and you’ll find google images full of Martine Bedin’s Super.

Lamp made of fiberglass with colour fittings. Fiberglass being a fiber reinforced polymer, lightweight, extremly strong and robust material.

When looking at Super, first thought that comes to mind is of these wooden pull along toys.

Similarities of having wheels, made up of simple shapes, being colourful and a cord to pull(although for Super’s sake for the wiring of the lamp). Both having a fun and playful feel about them.  Coincidently this pull along toy in of a hedgehog, which is the first animal that Super reminded me of.

Bedin’s work’s come across as having animal characteristics.  I’m reminded of characters from Alice in Wonderland.

Character’s made up of inanimate objects, but by projecting animal characteristics Bedin creates character within her objects.

Here ‘Light’ has some what of duck personality(family of ducks following each other?)

Martine uses geometric shapes and simple lines to create her forms, but in an interesting and diverse interaction and relationship to one another.

As seen in the vase Noto, the juxtaposition of such opposite shapes creates entirely new form and creates visual curiosity.

There’s a stackabilty to her work. Creating structures as if with building blocks (again another reference to children’s toys?)

Ombre 3N looks as if it is not structurally strong enough to stay up.  Slanted slightly, shapes seem to be balancing and any upset could cause the whole thing to fall apart.  But of course being made of marble this is not the case.

Her Chaos series tells a story of the falling of these building blocks.  Putting into question balance and structure, and demonstrating it’s fragility.  Chaos a fitting name, defined as a state of utter confusion or disorder.  Series portrays entropy-the measure of chaos in relation to time.

Martine born and raised in Bordeaux, moved to Florence in 1978 to study architecture. ‘Super’ was among her contributions to Memphis-an Italian post modern design and architecture group founded in Milan.  She puts into question and provokes thought into architectural foundations of structure and balance

‘Manuscrit’ shows some more stacking structures. As if made of stacks of paper(manuscripts?) it is actually made of porcelain.  The layering got me thinking about lamination-a technique of manufacturing a material in multiple layers.  The composite material achieves improved strength, stability, sound insulation, appearance or other properties from the use of different materials.

 

In some of her work, there is a flattened form to them as if to make the 3D 2D.  Bedin’s starting point for any work is sketching! Outlining her reflections on objects and their influence on everyday life, she always draws her ideas first-planning and thinking.

Sketching ‘Super’

Sketching is the easiest and quickest way of getting ideas down on paper, the best starting point for any projects/ideas