Fish Bowls is a new project by designer Roger Arquer that presents 15 variations on the standard fish bowl including Do Not Piss Me Off (above), which “tells us about the power to decide between the life and death of the fish”.
“Each piece examines a topic or suggests a solution to an issue,” says Arquer. “Dear Neighbour (above), for example, tell us about the delicate relationships we have with our close neighbours, Suicidal Tendencies prevents your fish from committing suicide, and Russian Dolls (below) gives your fish a chance to decide how big it wants to be. I once read that a fish grows according to the space it has, that’s what inspired me in this case.”
Fish Bowls will be exhibited in London this September as part of an exhibition called Conversational Spanish 02. Curated by Hector Serrano, the exhibition also shows the work of other Spanish designers including El Ultimo Grito, Martin de Azua and Marti Guixe.
Conversational Spanish 02 is supported by ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade) and takes place at the Noel Hennessey contemporary furniture showroom, 67a Great Titchfield Street, London W1W 7PT, from 18-25 September 2007.
Photos are by Peter Mallet. Below is more info from Arquer and descriptions of the rest of the Fish Bowls:
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This project comprises fifteen different fish bowls that explore variations of the iconic image of a fish bowl.
Each piece examines a topic or suggests a solution to a different issue. In this project human qualities had been attributed to fish through the design. Thoughtful and yet playful, FishBowls relate with Birdland and Mousetraps, two previous projects also conceptualized on variations.
Above: Above Water, tell us about sharing the water between the fish bowl and the plant.
Above: Wishing Well, tell us about cultural traditions related to throwing coins on wells or fountains.
Above: Bottle Vase, tell us about how we use objects for another purpose, when they original function has ended.
Hanging from a String, tell us about find playfulness in a apparently threatening situation.
Above: Pure Life, tell us about purifying the water directly when refilling the bowl.
Above: Private Matters, tell us about privacy for the fish.
Above: Chill Out / Warm Up, tell us about how we can control water temperature adding hot water or ice in the small receptacle.
Above: Russian Dolls, tell us about how big the fish wants to grow. If stays in the small bowl, the fish will keeps small. If it goes to the big, it will grow.
Above: Under Candle Light, tell us about candle light floating on water for a romantic evening.
Above: XS or XL, tell us about relationships between a big fish and a small one living together.
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Posted by Marcus Fairs
Excellent Excellent Excellent! I mean… just Excellent!
:D 
August 16th, 2007 at 11:18 pmSweet, beautiful, clever, all of that with a smart sense of humor. Some of these fish bowls are contemporary poems. Love it!
August 17th, 2007 at 9:26 amExcellent!
August 17th, 2007 at 1:15 pmPoor fish.
August 17th, 2007 at 1:25 pmWonderful, but I wonder,were these tanks actually build or just a graphic mockup?
August 17th, 2007 at 4:31 pmbrilliant ideas. love them!
August 17th, 2007 at 6:21 pmvery nice!
August 18th, 2007 at 1:19 pmThat’s just plain cruel. It’s as bad as kittens in bottles (please tell me that wasn’t real?). I’m with John, poor fish
August 19th, 2007 at 8:10 pmfantastic!
August 20th, 2007 at 7:06 amVery interesting…only that a single fish looks ‘lonely’!
August 20th, 2007 at 10:17 amPoor fish? They’re betta fish and goldfish, both get air from the water themselves (they don’t need filter systems) and there’s plenty of room. What’s all this poor fish? Betta fish prefer small spaces.
August 20th, 2007 at 2:27 pmAnyway, the real focus should be on the bowls and they’re stunning. I especially love the first one. *two thumbs up*
Really great, like the idea of giving a philosophical signification for a object that we seen so often in a conventionnal way in a petshop.
August 20th, 2007 at 5:05 pmbrill
August 21st, 2007 at 10:24 pmreally clever… but i agree… poor fish
and Sam u are wrong.. beta fish get air mainly by gulping it from the surface, and they ‘prefer’ at least a gallon of space…
but i agree that the focus should be on the cleverness and relationships of the bowls and
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:29 pmo, and as for the one with the plant on top.. they use to sell something like that with a beta fish on the bottom at pet shops and other places, but the fish usually die in a week because theres not enough oxygen with the plant covering the opening…
and some of these look impossible to clean, but hey, great concept
August 22nd, 2007 at 8:32 pmthis man has got a real brain
August 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 amI agree, these bowls look great and I believe that was the idea here. For the record though niether betta fish or gold fish like small spaces.
August 24th, 2007 at 11:13 pmSome of these designs are hazardous to the fish, if they were to be used in real life. The ones blocking off the surface of the water from outside air prevent the fish from getting oxygen. The copper pennies in the water would poison the water. The flower stems in the water would start to slime up after a few days, making the water dirty. Water going through the plant pot would make the fishbowl water dirty too, and the pot is blocking off the air. But, this is JUST an art exhibit. It’s all done just for ooh-ahh factor. And frankly I’m not going to have a cow if a few goldfish & betta die, the artist can do what he wants with his fish.
August 25th, 2007 at 4:32 pmgrate job !!!!
August 26th, 2007 at 10:56 pmWonderful objects & photographs but I must cry too. Many of these would kill a fish. Also, fyi, goldfish grow too big for bowls. That’s why they die, their lifespan can be 30 years.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:06 pm“tells us about the relationship between x”
these are gross oversimplifications and offer absolutely no insight in their attempt at empirical statements. Sorry, these are far from genius. If you learned something from these fishbowls, you are either mentally retarded or can’t grasp even the most elementary of concepts. A few bowls are aesthetically pleasing, but the bold statement from the artist “Each piece examines a topic or suggests a solution to an issue” proves to us all that he thinks he is way more creative than he actually is.
Also, arguing that the fish are in some kind of poor situation is equally as unimpressive.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:07 pmErm, regarding the Russian Doll bowls, fish do NOT grow to the size of the tank. The only things which stunt the growth of fish is a lack of food, dirty water and/or other fish. Not tank size.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:58 pmHi there,
Many thanks for your comments. I really appreciate all of them ! The positive and the critics.
Just to clarify some issues:
- My intention is not only to design a beautiful object. I do care about fish.
- Fish bowls have been around for very long time. I have not design a new way of keeping fish. It already existed. I am just making a statement about different possible variations.
- All the fish bowls which have the top covered have extra holes between the water level and the cover. I am testing them for last month and the fish are still alive!
- To be able to do these variations, I have to force myself to extract as many ideas as possible. Some will be truth some will be miths, some urban legends… The fact is that a family of the same object can start to happen. I call this process, tri-dimensional brainstorming.
- It is up to the user how wants to use it. How often clean it, which type of fish…
- Apologies for the people, who only see things in black or white, if I offended your intelligence.
Many thanks to you all.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:03 amNice bowls. People get very fired up over gold fish here. Some people need to take a deep breath and lighten up.
August 28th, 2007 at 9:42 pmThe bowls are very nice to look at, and I do find them quite artistic.
And the thing about people making a stink over keeping fish in them is that it really isnt ideal for a fish to live in an unfiltered and unarrated bowl. Its like sticking a person in a closed up house and leaving the gas stove on. The fish slowly get poisoned by their own wastes. However, as a work of art, I quite like the bowls.
August 29th, 2007 at 10:51 amwell i must be one of those people who only see in black and white then, as all i see there are some bored fish stuck in fishbowls, my knowledge of keeping fish makes me wonder how much ammonia is present in the water and how often the water is changed while they are stuck on display. all fish need filters, even ones who also have the ability to breath atmospheric air.
August 29th, 2007 at 11:00 amyes, some of us may be getting a little ‘hung up about a few goldfish’ but there are many people who spend a lot of our time trying to get people to think of fish as real animals rather than ornamental objects, and keep them in proper tanks with filters and plants… and when we see something like this it just shows us that there are poeple who are still missing the point!
did you really need to use real fish to do this? i really dont see how you think you are representing anything other than your own ignorance, in thinking you can use a fish in an alternativley designed bowl to illustrate anything to do with the social relationships between humans! LMAO. that is one of the most pretentious things i’ve read. what is it with ‘artists’, why do you think you are doing anything other than trying to make something aesthetically pleasing or shocking, as the case may be?
one almost positive comment, the one with the flowers would be great without the fish.. stick to designing vases… at least cut flowers are already dead.
how crazy is this world?
August 30th, 2007 at 9:25 amsit yourself into the bowl and be quiet
I’ve got one to share !
Poor Goldfish
August 30th, 2007 at 4:16 pmFish bowls are actually illegal in several countries (i.e. Germany), and for good reasons. There is very little gas exchange due to the very small water surface area. Fish don’t have a possibility to hide. And above all, the spherical boundaries seriously disturb their orientation using their lateral lines, leading to a permanent state of stress.
Yes, fish bowls have been around for a long time. So have drills to put a hole in your skull to cure headaches. People didn’t know better in former times. Would you still recommend a drill for migraine?
August 31st, 2007 at 1:44 amThis “tells” us nothing, “tell us about candle light floating on water for a romantic evening”. “Chill Out / Warm Up, tell us about how we can control water temperature adding hot water or ice in the small receptacle”. whats that all about? the images are good and striking but the reasoning and justification I am struggling to fathom, what are you trying to say actually?
I am a working artist with eclectic tastes, however,
Help me here I am relly struggling to get your point.
September 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pmGreat
September 8th, 2007 at 6:22 amTwo of my main passions in life (animals and art) combined. Sadly, it was done for moot reasons and no thoughts as to the fish themselves. The bowls are beautiful and very well thought out, but I think they would be better suited towards chemistry or just plain art in itself. Art is a blessing for us, but we can’t cross the line by compromising the quality of life for any animal, simply for our own expressions. Its inspiring though, given me some good ideas for my own thang, designing fuctional yet artistic aquariums. Learn about fish , man and respect life. And keep making art.
September 17th, 2007 at 1:09 amintersting
September 24th, 2007 at 8:12 amFabulous Design & Ideas….i keep fish & would love to know where to buy them for my ultra modern minimalistic house?
October 14th, 2007 at 4:39 pm…poor fish
October 25th, 2007 at 2:44 amq de puta madre q estan …
November 10th, 2007 at 11:51 pmwhere can i buy these fish bowls? i would love to buy one for my fish. i think they are fantastic. sylvie nyc
November 12th, 2007 at 2:09 amTHIS FISHBOWLS ARE SUPER COOL !! ID SO GET ONE FOR MY FISH !!! HAHA
November 13th, 2007 at 1:28 amAre they being sold anywhere?
November 14th, 2007 at 11:53 amthese are beautiful pieces of art, but as many people have pointed out, inhumane. there are a few that are bothering me especially, like Russian Dolls. it is a horrible myth that goldfish only grow to the size or their container. it has long been used as an excuse to keep a fish that gets six inches long plus tail in a tiny bowl. you cannot make a fish stay small, you can only kill it before it reaches adulthood. also goldfish DO NOT breath air, they will only swallow air if they are suffocating, and even then it doesn’t do much except make them sick. they need filtration and aeration to be healthy. the only reason goldfish will survive in a bowl is that it is a very hardy fish, but is surviving really living? to me keeping a goldfish in a bowl is like keeping a scottish deer hound in a closet.
betas are at least slightly better off in bowl because they have a labyrinth organ that allows them to breath air, however that does not mean they are happy in there. far from it, betas come from warm, slow moving waters choked with plants, compare that with a bowl. they are very shy and sensitive to light, a bowl offers no cover and puts the fish under alot of stress. how would you like it if you had to spend your life in a white sterile room where it was always too cold and the lights were too bright? maybe if you actually changed the warm water in ‘Chill Out / Warm Up’ often enough to make a temp difference and added a big bunch of frogbit (a floating plant) to provide cover and shut out some light, plus daily water changes in the main bowl to keep the ammonia at a safe level…. THEN you would have a passable home for the fish.
as art it is fine, i don’t have any problem with putting a fish in a fish bowl long enough to take a picture, it’s keeping them in there long term that bothers me. i sincerely hope that these do not end up being sold.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:56 amps- here is a lil doodle i did off this art. i hope it illustrates my point: kill an animal or let it live, but don’t let if suffer under your care.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:58 amimage url:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n309/rainbowstiletto/pulltheplug.jpg
I need a fish bowl for non-productive politial office cliques.
March 2nd, 2008 at 6:42 pmGR8!
I really want to find out this idea can work or not.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:53 amThanks man.
Wow! Amazing art. My family and I had a wonderful discussion over each work. Very thought-provoking.
April 28th, 2008 at 12:57 am