Designing in co-creation with nature makes invisible systems visible again

In line with the overall theme in Munich, “How to co-create with nature”, artist and ‘critical designer’ Rosalie Apituley teaches the master class “How to use energy along with the weather” (since we are increasingly dependent on natural energy sources, such as the sun and wind), while Sjaak Hullekes, founder of sustainable fashion label Hul le Kes, gives a dye workshop: ‘Get your hands dirty, dye with natural materials, and hear the story about a new - sustainable – fashion system during the dye workshop by Sjaak Hullekes.’

Please find the entire program of the Dutch creative industry during HERE, led by Creative Arnhem under the banner of CreativeNL.

'Every little bit helps to change the system, I hope to ignite sparks for that'

Fashion designer Sjaak Hullekes is co-founder and creative director of Arnhem-based Hul le Kes, which was also present at MCBW last year with CreativeNL. ‘With Hul le Kes we want to show alternatives to the current fashion system and are committed to the revaluation of the beauty of imperfection. Everything we design is produced in our own studios in Arnhem; one of the studios is the Hul le Kes Recovery Studio, a recovery studio for people and textiles.’

What will you do in Munich – what will you bring?

Hullekes: ‘We organize our Dyeing Events to make people think about the [mostly polluting] use of color in the fashion and textile industry, to give them information about the current system and how we are trying to do it differently. The fashion system has become very distant from people and standardized to such an extent that it has become abstract; it has effectively become invisible. With our contribution we give more insight into that system and give tips on how you yourself can bring about change. The use of plant-based dyes is an important part of that for us, and I will be happy to elaborate on that in Munich. I hope to give participants inspiration not to just buy a random piece of clothing, but to think about the consequences of their choices – in a playful way.’

What is the most important development in your field (design X nature)?

‘We are surrounded by nature in Arnhem and that has always played an important role in our way of working. Fortunately, in general you see fashion designers moving more and more towards nature and even setting up farms for textile purposes. There is a growing understanding among designers today about the fact that resources are scarce and good resources can only be obtained if you connect with nature.

We must think rigorously differently and get rid of the systems that are being used now. I think we in the Netherlands are good at using design for problem solving, and in doing so design is often less a specific product, but can also be in the concept, thinking and approach.

What I especially hope to take away from Munich? Enthusiasm! And we are always open to fun and sustainable collaborations. Previously we worked together with Allude, a cashmere brand from Munich. And for several seasons now we have been selling in Munich at Sois Blessed (‘a place that is greater than just a concept store, we call it a place of values’, ed.). But private customers of Hul le Kes are also increasingly coming from Germany. Every little bit helps to change the system, I hope to ignite a spark for that.’

Finally, how do you see the future? Are you hopeful or pessimistic?

‘I am always positive. Of course there are a lot of problems in the world now; we should not deny them, but rather face them. If we work with enough [people] for a better future, the future is always hopeful. We see, with the growth of Hul le Kes, that the demand for our type of products and services is increasing. And in Arnhem we don’t do this alone, but together. Because only together will we change the world!’

Mindfuck

Rosalie Apituley graduated cum laude in Product Design from the ArtEZ University of the Arts in Arnhem in 2022. ‘My graduation research started with the question: ‘How is it possible that if I turn off the light a polar bear at the North Pole can benefit from it?’ I didn’t understand anything about energy and the very fact that I didn’t understand anything about it, I found fascinating. My current work is about (re)getting a grip on that dull gray, invisible world of power outlets, boxes, buttons and cables and thus on our personal relationship with energy.’

At the moment she is artist-in-residence at Dutch energy network company Alliander, where she is investigating – with seriousness, wonder and humor – whether energy use and therefore our way of life can also be adapted to changing weather conditions. For example, she is designing an ice rink on abundant solar power for this summer. ‘A mindfuck, or neatly put: a contra intuitive, abrasive thought, to raise people’s awareness of climate change in a lighthearted yet bittersweet way’, Apituley says.

What will you do in Munich – what will you bring?

‘My current project is about how we will depend on a (largely) dynamic energy system in the future. Energy sources like the sun and wind do not provide energy constantly. And at peak moments when the sun shines a lot, so much energy is generated that it doesn’t fit through the cables, so the extra energy isn’t saved.

I find it interesting that there are times of great energy surpluses and at other times there will be scarcities. I think it would be very nice if we could celebrate those surpluses and enjoy what we have, what nature gives us, which we reflect on again in the winter. In other words, can we adapt our rituals and culture to what the weather offers us? Can we live flexibly and dynamically, and thus collectively restore our relationship with nature?

Cliffhanger: during the interactive, informal master class, I will explore these thoughts in depth, we will take a short walk, and in the end we will create beautiful visual output which we will capture on film as well! The invisible world of energy will become visible and tangible.

Why shouldn’t you miss this master class? Plans are being made now for how we will deal with energy in the future, and those changes will happen very quickly! It is important to look at the world fundamentally differently.’

Overall, what is the most important development in your field (design X energy/nature)?

‘The concept of natural intelligence, as a counterbalance to artificial intelligence. Technology and nature can go very well together, as long as we realize that everything we make is connected to nature…

When you become aware of that, you start designing differently. And it also creates space for questions such as: how can we solve high-tech problems with low-tech solutions? As the Belgian science journalist Kris De Decker demonstrates with Low←Tech Magazine (‘this website runs on solar energy, which means it goes off the air from time to time’). And art like Plastic Car by Gijs Schalkx, a Volvo that runs for free and legally on waste plastic (and whose ‘environmental impact is comparable to a Tesla’, ed.).

These themes and movements have certainly been around in the Netherlands for some time. There are also lots of institutions and organizations, that offer attention to such developments, such as FIBER (an artistic festival that embraces the idea that technology can also support nature) and Zone2source (testing ground for art & ecology). The Netherlands is good at playfully tackling complex social issues. We dare a lot and we are usually not afraid that something is not ‘allowed’ ;)

In that respect, I am curious to see how the 'Creative Business' (of Munich creative business week) views my research and what the discourse on the matter in Germany is.’

Finally, how do you see the future? Are you hopeful or pessimistic?

‘Both! I am often hopeful, but also gloomy at times. Recently, I’ve been learning more and more about how the ‘political’ energy system works on a large scale. This can be quite daunting. I also find it frightening that rebound effects, such as the Jevons Paradox, show us that it remains to be seen whether we are really going to achieve carbon reductions with the energy transition. (In 1865, English economist William Stanley Jevons observed that technological improvements that increased the efficiency of coal use actually led to increased consumption of coal in a wide range of industries, ed.).

The question – and therefore the answer – lies much more with people (and our behavior, desires and yearning for comfort) than we think. Changing people is, in the end, the hardest part, but this is precisely what I find fun and challenging. Because people and their optimism and drive for action often give me hope ⭐️’

*) CreativeNL, your connection to a world beyond imagination, is the international brand of the Dutch Top Sector Creative Industry and CLICKNL (the knowledge and innovation network of the creative industry) and – as such – forms a platform for players in the Dutch creative industry that wat to contribute internationally to accelerated innovation for a better world.

More specifically, CreativeNL, in collaboration with CLICKNL International, encourages long-term international cooperation and exchange in the field of knowledge and innovation, and international sustainable entrepreneurship – and shares content about it to fuel that process and as evidence for this approach. For example, last year top director Johan Kramer was commissioned by CreativeNL to make a film about Borre Akkersdijk, who single-handedly wants to make the textile industry transparent worldwide; as a source of inspiration and ‘shining example’ of a Dutch creative professional who successfully innovates and is doing business internationally in a sustainable way.

© CreativeNL 2024 (funded by the Ministries of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Education, Culture and Science)