Rethinking metal through material research
“Metal is often seen as something rigid, something fixed. But on the other hand, it also has something soft: you can reshape it, you can bend it. You can actually do all sorts of things with it. Precisely because that’s often underestimated, I find it interesting to work with.”
A hands-on process in the metal workshop
In the metal workshop at AKI ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design, Hanne found her fascination. Through making, her central theme emerged: resistance. “My research is about tension in metal, partly because I discovered that I really enjoy working in the metal workshop.” That’s where she experienced how metal springs back when you try to bend it.
At the beginning of the year I walked into the workshop and said: ‘I want to learn how to weld.’ And they were like: come on, let’s do that. And then you can just learn.”
Design meets interaction: a lamp that responds
One of the shapes she developed turned into a lamp. “Imagine: you place it like this, and you bend it a little, then it lights up. But if you use a lot of force – and I really have to try – then it gets just a bit brighter. That’s how I show the difference in resistance.”
From paperclip to installation
What started as a simple paperclip evolved into a series of objects where tension, form, and movement converge. “Making is really nice. It genuinely makes me happy. When you’re in the workshop and it works, or when it doesn’t work and then you make it work.”
Hanne's goal: Dutch Design Week
After graduation, Hanne wants to keep exploring what materials can tell her. “I want to follow the master Industrial Design in Eindhoven. I want to discover what exactly is behind the phenomenon of ‘spring back’, and what else I can do with it. So really diving deeper, also theoretically. My ultimate goal: Dutch Design Week. That would be so cool.”
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