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FLOCKS Wobot
2024
For the Commission presented at NGV Melbourne, Meindertsma presents a giant lamb constructed from European wool that would have otherwise been discarded as waste. First there was a mountain, 2024, utilises a robotic tool known as the ‘Wobot’, developed in collaboration with TFT Tools for Technology. Demonstrating the possibility of fabricating structural, three-dimensional objects using only wool, this project revolutionises the repurposing of wool and highlights its vast potential for future applications.
Over the past two decades, Christien Meindertsma has conducted in-depth research into materials – uncovering their properties and the stories and industrial systems behind them. Focused on sustainability and the life cycle of products, Meindertsma’s most recent research has resulted in a new groundbreaking fabrication method for 3D felting wool.
As the first complex prototype fabricated by the Wobot, the giant lamb is joined by a chair made using the same innovative process, underscoring the vast potential for sustainable, circular design in furniture production and beyond. Both, are accompanied by a captivating film, created in collaboration with filmmaker Roel van Tour.
The project is a follow up
to the Zachte Stad; a research project commissioned by Rotterdam Circulair
about finding out what was the quality and value of the wool of the Rotterdam
herd of sheep owned by Martin Oosthoek.
After doing this project Meindertsma felt there was a need for a new
technique that would make it possible to build wool in truly three-dimensional
shapes without limits in size.
MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission 2024
CREDITS:
TFT Tools for Technology, Doosan Robotics, Dormac Cobots, Martin Oosthoek, Havivank
IMAGE CREDITS: Installation view of the MECCA x NGV Women in Design Commission, on display from 3 October 2024 - February 2025 at NGV International, Melbourne. Photos by Eugene Hyland
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