CARLA TENNENBAUM

2000-2005

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Kinetic spirals are handcrafted from E.V.A. foam industrial waste, through mechanical fragmentation and manual recomposition, using only original connection pieces developed for the project. 

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The sum of colors from E.V.A. particles generates simple abstract visual patterns that are full of rhythm and significance. Spiral patterns are at the base of human expression in multiple religious or nonreligious manifestations through time and space. They also reference the idea of circularity, evolution, and, in this case, the idea of upcycling, reclaiming the value of a discarded material and allowing it to be infinitely reused and an art supply.  

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Color variations are the result of available materials and the choices of its creators, making each piece unique and irreproducible. 

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The spirals received the hOLAnDA 2003 award by LADF - the Latin American Design Foundation, and a first prize at Design 21 2005 international contest, promoted by UNESCO and Felissimo Co. They also provided the base for EVAMARIA project (2007-2010), recipient of Artemisia Social Business' Young Entrepreneurs award, a YouthActionNet global fellowship by the International Youth Foundation, and Brazilian SEBRAE's Top 100 Handicraft Award 2009. The process has been shared with hundreds of people through creative workshops throughout the years from its conception.

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Carla currently develops project Unspirals, which further explores the constructive (and de-constructive) possibilities of this technique as a metaphor for circular design, using the same set of materials to produce a series of installations, generating videos and animations by recording the transformation of materials.