Slow Hand Design

Southeast Asia continues to step up its presence on the international design scene. Though the traditional giant Japan has long contributed examples of excellence to the history of design—from the midcentury- and late-modernism of Sori Yanagi to Shiro Kuramata and the more contemporary Tokujin Yoshioka and Naoto Fukasawa—and China has, recently, seen designers such as Xie Dong and Shao Fan secure mind-boggling prices among collectors, design talent is emerging elsewhere regionally as well, including India and South Korea. Now Thailand is seeking to become a point of reference for top-quality production, making its first appearance at the Milan Furniture Fair this year with a detailed and surprising overview of its own contemporary design.

Thailand—popularly known for a millenary culture abounding with colour, fragrance and tradition, as well as beaches to die for—is also traditionally viewed in terms of production as a source of fine raw materials and excellent crafts. But with farsighted governmental policies—their Salone project is in collaboration with the Department Export Promotion (DEP)—Thailand has chosen to make its debut in society with a curatorial project entitled Slow Hand Design: The Heart Value of Thai Products, held on the former Ansaldo site in Via Tortona 54. Teeming with charm and colour, the exhibition demonstrates that the evolution of contemporary Thai design is firmly rooted in its proud past, not least the nineteenth century, when the area known as Suvarnabhumi (i.e. Golden Land) for its outstanding wealth and trade became a point of reference for Asia as a whole.

Curated by Eggarat Wongcharit, a researcher, avant-garde designer, and bold businessman, Slow Hand Design is also a detailed inventory of what is happening today in the Thai world of mass production, a vibrant kaleidoscope expressing typical local features such as food, essences and conviviality, and distinctive aesthetics. Slow Hand Design explains the evolution of small- and medium-sized companies which are producing design at an international level and how the combination of modern technology and quality craftsmanship has given rise to products that manage, according to the curator, "to reflect the warmth and tradition of our people." As design is inextricable from its local context, the pieces presented by companies such as Crafactor, Ayodhaya and Yothaka clearly manifest familiar Thai elements in their use of natural materials such as gems, wood and straw. In close harmony with the local craft tradition, new Thai design is a meeting between expert age-old local art and the ingredients of contemporary design.

The title of the exhibition, Slow Hand Design, conveys the feeling that every piece is the product of a holistic approach to life and things. The route is divided into four sections: the first illustrates the ancient glory of Suvarnabhumi and its cultural, religious, and economic evolution. The second explains how the same cultural evolution has impacted contemporary Thai design; the third shows that contemporary Thai design production has become an internal resource for the domestic economy; and the final section takes a look at the future of Thai design, exploring its potential and developments via the presentation of products that have won the DEmark award, the country's most prestigious research and development prize.

Slow Hand Design is a passionate exploration of an emergent design world waiting to be discovered.