All that the building shed

On 20 September 2024, 'Archive from a Transformation' was unveiled in connection with the opening of Kolding School of Design’s newly renovated building. The artwork was created by Maria Viftrup, who has been working at the intersection of art and design since graduating from the school in 2019.

‘Archive from a Transformation’ reflects the school’s metamorphosis through materials that Viftrup collected during the process. Hard concrete, soft wood, pink PU foam, and yellow insulation - materials forgotten by students, dropped by workers, or shed by the building - have been carefully sorted and encapsulated in 101 test tubes and 16 display cases. Dust, spongy rubber, and abrasive insulation are presented in new aesthetic frameworks, challenging our perception of value.

Through the artwork, Maria Viftrup invites us to reflect on the resources we often overlook. Her sensory material experiments not only focus on waste but also urge us to reconsider what we truly value in our everyday lives.

Maria Viftrup is driven by the desire to work with care for the overlooked, the smallest, the dusty, and the sensory, in an experimental intersection between design and visual art. Her works create tangible encounters between people and materials - from carefully collected and organised dustpan debris to explosive "smash events," where the audience is invited to both create and destroy the exhibited pieces.

Viftrup has collaborated with and exhibited at several significant art institutions and has received numerous work grants from the Danish Arts Foundation. In 2019, as a newly graduated designer, she was awarded the Young Talent Award at the Danish Design Awards.

Thanks to sponsors
The artwork has been realised with support from Vestjysk Bank, contractor Hansson & Knudsen, EWII A/S, Cubo Architects, and Tegnestuen Mejeriet.