This design duo deploys art as social comment with a paper installation at the recent International Furniture Fair.
Contributed By Jonathan Teo
Dora Tedjosiswojo and Ethan Lin. PHOTO COURTESY OF DORA TEDJOSISWOJO
In a recent issue of Home & Décor, a popular interior design magazine, two graduates from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts were featured for their concept and design for the International Furniture Fair/Asean Furniture Show.
The duo, Ethan Lin and Dora Tedjosiswojo, both 23, are recent NAFA 3D Design graduates. They were invited to pitch their project for D’Space, a showcase at the IFF. Out of five competing design ideas, theirs was selected by the Singapore Furniture Industries Council to be produced for the Fair.
Their concept was “Chaos in Silence.” “The paper strings in the Furniture Design Award section represent chaos, while there is silence and calm in the Design Inevitable showcase,” explained Lin. “It also displays the wide contrast between serenity and excitement,” added Tedjosiswojo.
Why did they pick paper as the main material for their design? Tedjosiswojo explained that the paper forest— a visual irony since paper is made from trees—was meant to address the issue of sustainability.
The challenge of creating the paper forest proved to be as huge as the display. The pair initially created a mock-up with a few strings and made a friend walk through it to make sure that people didn’t get entangled in the paper forest. To create the forest, they used 60 pieces of paper attached to 800 “paper strings” measuring nine meters in length. This installation impressed many visitors at the Fair.
Lin and Tedjosiswojo, both City Harvest Church members, have taken The Parable as their design studio name. This came out of an encounter Tedjosiswojo had last year when she was feeling far away from God, but was reminded about the three parables in Luke 15 in the Bible: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The duo decided this name would be a constant reminder to stay close to God and not be lost again.
Lin said, “We have always believed that God is the source of our inspiration. For this project, we were pitching against four other established design companies. So, we prayed
to God to give us inspiration that would outshine the rest. Truly, it came to pass.”
The pair also received encouragement from their lecturer, Bacus Boo. “He knew of the problems we had, and he continued to encourage us, especially during the construction period when there were a lot of doubts that the paper would be done properly and stay in place. Mr. Boo kept supporting us in prayer, and reminded us to keep the project in our prayers too,” shared Lin.
Thanks to the good response at the Fair, Lin and Tedjosiswojo are now offering services at their design studio. They dream of becoming a leading design name in the industry, and hope to be an inspiration even as they are inspired by others. “We also hope our design will help create a better environment,” said the duo.
