Jaroslav Juřica: The Archive of Experiences

(adam štěch) Among the designers nominated for the Discovery of the Year for the 2008 Česká spořitelna Czech Grand Design Awards, Jaroslav Juřica has appeared with a very interesting project entitled Drawerment. The extraordinary wall unit called The Archive of Experiences was designed as an homage to the Dutch approach to design…

“I do not want to be bound by orthodox functions; conceptual approach provides me much bigger freedom,” explains Juřica.

By the way, he is one half of the Hubero Kororo studio from Brno, whose name refers to Rumburak – the cult figure of Czech fairytales with his secret instruments and concoctions. He founded Hubero Kororo in 2005 with graphic designer Zuzana Lehutová and product designer Petr Korecký (who left the studio this year).

“We understand design as an open medium that is able to communicate in all directions. It is not a mere form following function,” say the designers.

Thus, their portfolio includes pieces that offer new ideas and exceptional user experience thanks to original design and crossover. The Drawerment project is similar. Juřica created it in Holland this year. It is a kind of homage to the Dutch manner of designer production. Its form presents a visually attractive artistic installation.

“Although I like Dutch design, it does not mean everything to me. I try to base my work on it because there really is a profound fountain of inspiration. However, I seek to create Czech design. I would like to find a specific way,” says Juřica.

At the time of the Drawement project, Juřica worked in the studio of the Dutch designer Jeroen Demakersvan, who won appraisal for his decorative fence called Lace Fence or the wooden sculptural table called Cinderella Table and about which one could read in Blok magazine. The Drawerment system of shelves was designed for the newly reconstructed space of the studio in Rotterdam – the Demakersvan Dutch Design House. A pure wall turns into an archive of experiences and thoughts from the past thanks to a unique installation in which the designer used various antique drawers inserted in white MDF boxes. Although the form is the same, each drawer is “filled” with a different mysterious content. The elaborate composition created a very attractive visual whole on the wall that may discreetly conceal the legacy of our ancestors. The starting point for this installation was the famous Chest of Drawers by Tejo Remy.

Juřica states, “I wanted to prove that Tejo Remy’s drawers are not untouchable and that one can still work with them in an authentic way.”

And how does Juřica, who has recently moved to Sweden, remember Jeroen Demakersvan?

“I am happy that I had a chance to cooperate with Demakersvan. I think that his production, together with the so-called design art that is undergoing an incredible boom at the moment, is a great substitution for fine arts that people have recently stopped believing in and have failed to understand. The specific form of Czech design that I am looking for may head in a similar direction to that of Dutch design.”

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