Mesquik Bowls

Not much has changed since the mass production of porcelain was invented in the 19th century. Students at the School of Form decided to break this pattern and use KUKA robots to produce porcelain dishes. They wanted the results of their experiments to be a record of their struggle with the material, but also to answer their design questions: If we can do everything with two hands, can we do it with one (robotic) hand? How will porcelain behave when we add breakfast cereal, yeast and vitamin C tablets, or hygroscopic granules? Will the resulting objects be useful, precisely made? It turns out that by interfering with the material and the unusual way of forming, the students achieved amazing results.

WHAT KUKA DOES: using tools inspired by kitchen utensils, it mixes the materials and pours them into a mould made from fabric.

HOW: Once dried, the moulds are ready for firing. In a ceramic kiln, the fabric together and the cereals burn away, and the varied texture and structure of bowls produced this way results from variable proportions of porcelain and cereals.

Bowls was created by Natalia Drzewiecka, Anna Olborska - students of School of Form SWPS University.

Project was a part of "Hack the Process" exhibition, which was presented for one month at the gallery of the Polish Institute in Vienna as part of the Vienna Design Week (17.9-3.11.2022).