MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Gabriele Brambilla
From production to consumption: exploring the ethics of coffee with Tate Exchange
- Written byGina Lampen
- Published date 11 March 2021
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In early 2020, MA Designer Maker students took part in a collaboration project with Tate Exchange at Tate Modern. The exhibition, entitled Power of Materials: Coffee, was a participatory installation which explored the hidden power dynamics and ethical concerns behind the coffee industry in today’s society.
We caught up with Gabriele Brambilla, one of the project’s participants, to look back on how the opportunity came about and how his practice has evolved throughout his time at Camberwell College of Arts.
MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Gabriele Brambilla
In February 2020, you took part in an exhibition with Tate Exchange called Power of Materials: Coffee. Can you tell me more about this project?
Maiko, our course leader, proposed that we put together a project as part of Tate Exchange - a space and a programme at Tate Modern which invites people to debate and reflect upon contemporary topics and ideas, get actively involved, think through doing, and make a difference.
After a long research phase, we concluded that coffee and its long production chain is a delicate and very wide subject to deal with, and made it the focus of our event.
We had the support of the manager of the Tate's roastery, Thomas, who explained in depth all the various steps of coffee processing, from cultivation to final preparation.
The result was an interactive installation that aimed to make visitors aware of the impact that coffee consumption has and the situation in which farmers in South and Central America live and work. We did a great deal of research to put together the information and, in parallel, we used waste coffee from the Tate's cafes to make the central installation.
Power of Materials: Coffee
Can you tell us about the experience of producing that project?
It was a very significant achievement for me to see work I had contributed to being displayed at a world-renowned national art gallery. I was also proud to have worked in such a big group – it felt like we were a collective and it was amazing to receive so much positive feedback!
None of this would have been possible if we hadn't all worked together functionally. It was great to see how everyone found their role in the project.
MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Gabriele Brambilla
How would you describe your practice?
As a designer I embrace a wide variety of techniques and methods, combining craftsmanship with technology to create a range of hand-made products, one-off and limited production collectable works.
I am continuously developing my aesthetics, evolving according to the experiences and projects I realise. I follow my curiosity for personal discoveries and drive my passion in deepening every single manufacturing detail and material choice.
Can you tell us about your background and how you came to study at Camberwell College of Arts?
I did my BA in Product Design at Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti (NABA) in Milan, Italy. At the end of the 3-year course, I decided to work for a couple of years to figure out what direction I wanted to carry out my studies.
During this time, I did various different jobs in the design field and realised that I wanted to work with materials, learn new production processes and collaborate with specialised craftsmen making one-off pieces.
Researching online, I found out about the Designer Maker course at Camberwell. I was really drawn to the interdisciplinary freedom the course offered and the chance to work with different materials in well-equipped workshops. I also wanted to be in an international environment where I could meet other designers is an opportunity to grow.
MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Gabriele Brambilla
How has studying on the course evolved your practice?
I have developed a way of interweaving my artistic attitude with the analytical design approach developed from my BA degree. I have gained a greater awareness of my creative process and making. I've been able to understand the conditions needed to be able to perform at my best and also what I need to improve on.
How do you consider the relationship between craft and design?
I believe there is no clear boundary between these two disciplines. Craftsmanship is often seen as what is made by hand preserving the tradition of manufacture. Design, on the other hand, is seen as the mass production of objects that are designed and then moved on to the production phase.
These 2 definitions, however, do not take into account that there is a meeting point between these disciplines and I, like many others, try to work combining these visions, for example, the use of technology and new industrial materials can be reinterpreted to create unique objects.
You can also see this in collaborations between designers and craftsmen, where the traditional process is rethought innovatively while preserving the tradition of manufacturing techniques.
I personally find myself in the definition of Designer Maker because I think it's the right term to be in the middle between the ways of looking at design and craft.
MA Designer Maker, Camberwell College of Arts, UAL | Photograph: Gabriele Brambilla
What have you been working on since graduating?
I am now working as a freelancer and at the same time carrying out my personal projects in my studio at Art Hub in Woolwich. I have been lucky enough to be able to find different types of work that manage to co-exist with each other. These include a temporary job at UAL as a "Student Fellow" where I do different things such as being an assistant in the Ceramics workshop at Chelsea College of Arts.
My plan for the future is to continue to develop my practice and aesthetic. To keep my creativity flowing trying to enrich myself culturally by coming in contact with other people, learning new processes of craft and technology production and being inspired by what surrounds me day by day.
In the future I want to do more projects aimed at helping different types of communities around the world, creating cultural exchanges and trying to reduce the impact that man has on the environment.
What advice would you give to someone considering to apply on the MA Design Maker course?
My advice is to experiment as much as possible and take every opportunity to make new projects and meet other designer-makers. Never limit yourself in your practice and to help each other with your peers. Plan what you want to do and give yourself goals to pursue during the year.
Time is precious and often you lose sight of your aim, so it's always good to keep in mind where you want to get and in the meantime, enjoy the journey to get there.
Find out about MA Design Maker at Camberwell College of Arts