Throughout 2019, I conducted interviews in four cities (Bilbao ES, Zurich CH, Minsk BY, and Aarhus DK) and circulated twelve different surveys in four different languages, for a project called Pure Luxury, inspired by the boom in luxury housing development in Boston where I am based.
My plan was to transform this data into objects that people could hold and use to reflect on different facets of luxury experiences—to generate discussion about what these experiences provide us with, and possible ways to attain the same feelings with minimal strain on community integrity and the natural environment.
But at the end of 2019, inspired by a technical difficulty during a fabrication process while in residence at BilbaoArte, the portion of Pure Luxury that I presented there ended up focusing in on one particular aspect of my research data: the frequency with which people were reporting that their most luxurious experiences offered some kind of respite from stress, anxiety, pressure or judgement. The objects here, though often made of luxurious materials, all draw attention to this theme, and sparked conversation with visitors about what it means that so many people feel this way.
Stay tuned for a more comprehensive exhibition of my research findings from Pure Luxury sometime in 2021.
This project received financial support from Index Freiraum, ok16, Flux Factory, ARoS, The Tanne Foundation, The City of Boston’s Artist Opportunity Fund and BilbaoArte.
Fishtnk Design Factory, Sarean, Arturo & Javi, Maxtalan and Anari & Maialen also made significant in-kind contributions to my work in Bilbao.