Folkform

Telling stories through materials. That is probably the best way of describing the work of the art and design studio Folkform. Do you know where, how and by whom the things you surround yourself are made? We live in a time when we have less and less knowledge of manufacture. Most things are produced so far away from the consumer that there is no connection at all with the maker. Traditionally there have been direct connections between a factory, its workers, the place in which it is located and the materials available locally. However, this is easily forgotten nowadays when the production is anonymous and inaccessible. It is these, often forgotten stories, that Folkform wants to capture through their design process.

Folkform was founded by Chandra Ahlsell and Anna Holmquist. Since the studio was set up in 2005, they have worked with design of furniture and objects to communicate an understanding of our industrial heritage and the people, places and processes behind it. They often highlight manufacturing techniques that otherwise would be lost or transferred elsewhere, and with them the knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation.

Folkform has a fascination for material and often the material leads the way for further exploration. It begun in 2005 when Ahlsell and Holmquist started a collaboration with the last Masonite factory in Sweden, a project that continues to this day.

Production Novellas is the largest solo exhibition of Folkform’s work to date and it includes a number of projects from the last decade. Here, the finished objects sit side by side with the raw materials they are made from. Photography, documentation and reflections around the creative  production process is also presented. This is what Folkform calls production novellas, stories of how things are made.

Folkform’s founders Chandra Ahlsell (b 1973) and Anna Holmquist (b 1978) studied industrial design at Konstfack in Stockholm. Ahlsell also studied at Pratt Institute in New York and Holmquist at Goldsmiths in London. Folkform has received the Future Design Days Award, The Annual Lauritz Icon, Residence Big Design Prize and the Bruno Mathsson Prize.

The exhibition is produced by Vandalorum.

Thanks to: University of Arts, Crafts and Design; Malmstens Linköping University, Magnus Laupa, Masonite factory in Rundvik and Finnish fiberboard, Swedish Arts Council, Region Jönköping County, Municipality of Värnamo and Vandalorum Partners: Hamrin, Liljedahl, Svenstig
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^{Photo: Erik Lefvander}