Affective-Fictional Matter

Everything is connected. What we refer to as bodies, nature and the environment are all part of the same vibrant fabric of life. Matter is not inert: it is condensed energy in constant transformation. Acknowledging this connection blurs the lines between us as individuals and the world around us, urging us to redefine our relationship with all that surrounds us from a radical affection perspective. This reminds us that all the materials in this exhibition are part of a fragile balance, a shared ecosystem to which we are intrinsically linked.

When disconnected from the world and driven by disaffection and consumerism, design exacerbates the climate emergency, inequality and destruction. On the other hand, designing with the world involves imagining from a place of caring, connection and life: affective matter. This approach challenges the status quo, supports durability, repairing and regeneration and values both tangible and intangible property. A new and profoundly political ecology of things suggests the possibility of shared hope founded on responsibility and resilience.

This affection also gives rise to "fiction matter", the ability to envision other possible worlds from a critical standpoint. Designing with the world is not just a matter of ethics: it is an act of radical imagination that urges us to dream of futures in which matter matters, counts and means something.