BORN FREE RANGE
He insists that in our current climate, design must live by these principles. “It must try not to fuel consumerism; if designers can design products that speak of longevity, durability, and timelessness, this will address a vital issue in our current ‘throw-away’ culture.” Ryan tells us about the project that sparked his rise as a respected sustainable designer, his notorious ‘Hackney Shelf’ (see page 10): “When I moved to London, a city with history and stories, the worn, derelict, rusted, chipped and scratched buildings were a big inspiration. I wanted to capture these layers of dirt and graffiti that had built up over time, and so I did it with the ‘Hackney Shelf’. The project involved installing whiteboards at graffiti ‘hot-spots’ around East London. The concept was to present a blank canvas to the public. And they attracted a variety of illicit city activities. Once covered in graffiti, they were removed and transformed into mobile shelving units, bringing London streets indoors.” After the unprecedented success of this product, Ryan’s career was pretty much formulated. Subsequent projects cemented his acclaim with products such as ‘Inkuku’ and ‘Shanty’ that point directly to his South Africanness. His ‘Inkuku’ chairs adopt the technique of local craftsmen in townships, who create quirky chickens out of colourful plastic bags. ‘Shanty’ is a standing lamp mounted on corrugated iron that doubles as a room divider. Inspired by shanty towns in Jo’burg, Ryan creates this industrious construction out of waste from London building sites. Both items use relatively simple techniques and a fairly straightforward formula: leftover, forgotten or weathered materials, combined with desire for rebirth through design, to create awardwinning products. Another secret to the formula is that he still sees himself as “100% South African” and works daily to fuse his heritage with the new influences he is exposed to. Next on Ryan’s pioneering agenda is a project to create a giant totem pole from waste in conjunction with a community of teenagers. He also has plans to spread his wings further and set up a design studio in Barcelona (something tells us he misses the sun!). And, we are happy to hear, he will once again be reinstating his roots, working on a range of seating with local African communities. Apart from that, the free-ranger says he’s currently inspired by Dr. Suess, erosion and tree-houses. We’re looking forward to see what this could possibly mean for the greater good of design that Ryan Frank so happily engenders.
tipsy turvy one small seed
49