Dezeen Magazine

Kiki van Eijk casts branches in bronze for Civilized Primitives furniture collection

Design Miami/Basel 2016: each of the objects in this furniture collection by Kiki van Eijk is modelled on branches found in the forests surrounding the Dutch designer's Eindhoven home (+ slideshow).

The Civilized Primitive pieces range from an A-frame daybed of intersecting sticks to a tall and gnarled candlestick holder.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
A desk light is adjustable through a joint in its intersecting branches

They are all cast in bronze based on moulds taken from branches that have been sanded smooth on three sides and left textured on the last. This method gave rise to the "civilised" and "primitive" word choice in the collection's title.

Civilized Primitive's largest pieces are a desk with a conical light hanging overhead, and a single A-frame bed with a black and pink textile covering.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
The Civilized Primitives collection is being displayed in an outdoor Bedouin-style tent as part of Design Miami/Basel

There are three lamps: one curved floor lamp, one desk light that is adjustable through a joint in its intersecting branches, and one swing-like flat lamp that hangs from the ceiling.

The smaller items include a tripodal candle holder, a table mirror extending from a stone base, and a clock held up by a Y-shaped twig.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
The collection is cast in bronze based on moulds taken from branches

The designer was prompted to create the pieces – described as "whimsical and substantive" in aesthetic – after thinking about how people survive in the wild.


Related content: Dezeen's top six installations and exhibitions to see at Design Miami/Basel 2016


"These two collections represent my latest inspirations – how humans interact with the natural world and how designers have a responsibility to bring this relationship to design," said van Eijk.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
The designer was inspired by thoughts of how to survive in the wild

The designer went into the forests around her home to forage for materials that she brought back for her team to experiment with.

Presented by Nilufar Gallery as part of Design Miami/Basel's Design at Large programme, the Civilized Primitives collection is being displayed in an outdoor Bedouin-style tent, created using the large-scale printing processes of Dutch company Exposize.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
Van Eijk's Physical Interaction light sculptures are also on display alongside Civilized Primitives

Van Eijk's Physical Interaction light sculptures, which are turned on through unusual interactions like blowing on a mobile or lighting a flint, are also on show inside.

Civilized Primitives is one of our picks of the best things to see at Design Miami/Basel 2016, which runs from 14 to 19 June 2016. Also included is a six-tonne stone meditation space, a modular armadillo and designs by Zaha Hadid.

Civilized Primitives by Kiki van Eijk
Physical Interaction light sculptures are turned on through unusual interactions like blowing on a mobile

Elsewhere at the event, an interactive wave of nearly 10,000 glass tiles and a playable crystallophone feature as part of Swarovski's Designers of the Future commissions.