Magic In Small Things

If you haven't heard of Dutch designer Wieki Somers yet, you really should. I was browsing through a magazine the other day, and came across a picture of a white vase that had its own limbs like a plant. Titled "Blossoms", the ceramic actually seems to have grown upwards from the mouth of the vase, and is painted with leaves and buds, while real flowers peek out of the ends of its limbs. It's lovely, in a Dr. Seuss kind of way. And that seems to be a general theme of Somers'.

In her web bio, Somers states, "I'm dearly interested in the way people deal with the everyday objects they are surrounded with. I try to figure out the hidden potential of those objects, the beauty and the tales which hide within." As a child who used to see faces and creatures in wood grain and marks on the wall, and as an adult still searching for magic in big city life, I can certainly get into this. Somers does indeed work magic with humdrum items, such as her giant "Bellflower" lamp, with its constellation-like LED lights inside, or her memory rings cleverly entitled "My Precious", which are blank until rubbed to show a hidden image. "Trophees" is a whimsical display of wine and champagne glasses fitted together, and "Mattress Stone" is a vase with a convincing quilted mattress pattern. I also like "Phantom", a series in which she creates shadows out of vinyl and attaches them to existing images or settings, including one in which the shadows are for completely different chairs than those they represent.

Somers seems mostly known for her fanciful "Bathboat", which has been featured on Neatorama and ThisNext, among others, and was installed in the bathroom of a director at Paris' Gallery Kreo. She was last in L.A. at Acme Gallery in 2006, but keep an eye on her exhibition schedule.

photo by Bree Apperley via Flickr