Bruno Baietto's series of coloured glass vessels (1) that are blown into hollowed out bread which gives the vessels their interesting texture. They are created alongside porcelain (2,3) and ceramic objects (3) that commemorate the bread making process.
The project, titled Follow the Crumbs That Fall From Your Own, explores the symbolism of bread in different social constructs across history.
"Under socialism, bread is a synonym of labour and national progress," said Baietto, "while under capitalism it is a staple food and the result of a large economy."
"It's also a symbol of Christianity, as a gift of god and the body of Christ," he told Dezeen. For Baietto, bread is also part of his family history. He grew up in Montevideo, Uruguay, in a family of bakers with political ties in both Brazil and Uruguay.
"So it was a natural decision to explore the symbolism of bread and its production to address the leftovers of my own ideological background," he said.
The porcelain shoe, based on the safety shoe worn by bakery workers, tiles cast from discarded bakery workwear and ceramic trays that mimic the form of used cardboard boxes. With these objects, Baietto hopes to show that all design products are part of a system of ideologies, making them susceptible to a range of different interpretations.
"When something is designed, it is actively materialising a belief system and worldview, infiltrating the designer's values and moral positions even when it's not consciously intended," he said.
"In everyday life, no object or practice is neutral, but rather a result of its context and its ideological influences."
He also designed an animatronic dustbin to act as a critic for the exhibition. With bulging eyes, this bin moved was programmed to move around the space, reciting a recorded monologue.
Both moves were intended to shape the experience of Baietto's designs and the perception of their value.
Text by Amy Frearson, 2021 at Dezeen Watch A Bread is a Bread is a Bread here
