Dutch Design Week 2016: Digital Artefacts

Eindhoven – Designer Magnús Ingvar Ágústsson explored how physical objects can emotionally engage people with the increasingly abstract technology in our lives.

The Oracle’s Query by Magnús Ingvar Ágústsson is a tapestry depicting scenes from fictitious technological myths
His second project, Vessel, is a form of physical currency that allows for anonymous digital transactions

Ágústsson argues that adopting the cashless model will encroach on our privacy as all transactions will be traceable. ‘Being under constant surveillance leads to self-censorship, affecting your actions,’ says the designer.

In Vessel he proposes a phygital monetary system combining blockchain encryption with a set of private keys that guarantee the anonymity of the transaction. The aesthetic quality of the banknotes draws on the visual language of cryptography, and ultimately merges the physical and digital elements of the project.

The Oracle’s Query is a more humorous and poetic take on our limited understanding of technology and the resulting tendency to imagine it in physical form. The tapestry draws parallels with ancient mythology, combining immaterial concepts such as The Cloud with psychedelic animals dreamt up by Google’s Deep Mind set in a landscape filled with data mines. ‘The majority of society will never be able to understand the current technology so why not create other ways to connect with it that are emotional rather than logical?’ asks Ágústsson.