What do we use cookies for?
We use cookies to enable the use of our platform’s paid features and to analyse our traffic. No personal data, including your IP address, is stored and we do not sell data to third parties.
Eindhoven – Designer Magnús Ingvar Ágústsson explored how physical objects can emotionally engage people with the increasingly abstract technology in our lives.
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.
For more stories from Dutch Design Week, keep an eye on our Briefing and Shows sections.