Paperclip

The ‘boundaries of functionality’ is the main focus  for Esmee Gruson’s exploration in this project wherein she artisticly approaches everyday objects. Take the paperclip; an object that is familiar to all of us. Esmee researches how our relation to this object changes by enlarging and deforming it.

The new balance between recognisability and estrangement tents to evoke joy, amazement and confusion. This exposition asks the question: What happens to this object when it can no longer serve its original purpose? How do we relate to the discomforts of its alienation?

Esmee Gruson is a playful designer. She graduated from the HKU in Utrecht in 2023 as a product designer. In her designs she explores the boundaries of functionality and plays with our expectations. Her designs are often an alienated image of reality, colorful and playful.