Alan, let’s talk about why we wanna hold an exhibition like this?

Well, impulse, I think. I’ve attended so many oversea design exhibitions, thinking it’s time to let people know what a real Taiwanese design exhibition looks like. Actually, we do have many exhibition related to design in Taiwan, but most of them are more art-oriented; the weight of design activities seem pretty weak. What else can you think of except a design exhibition like YODEX. It’s like fashion design; without catwalk, clothes will only be clothes, won’t become a trend. Every designer should have a stage of his/ her own.

Can’t agree with you more; that’s exactly what I’m thinking too. Concept products, though cannot be produced massively, it’s a way for designers to present their thoughts and ideas. Concept products are powerful and affecting, and they need a stage to be displayed, such as, an exhibition. But why ‘wall’? Is there any reason for this theme?

I feel regretful too, ha. This is indeed a difficult topic; thank God that all Wall designers are able to go through this tough stage. Products in daily lives are often used within a specific space, like kitchen, bedroom and staircase, etc. The common ground these spaces share together is that they all have walls; walls are nice media for designers to make good use of. But still, it’s a difficult topic, I admit.

An exhibition like this indeed has its difficulty; you have to, under confinements and limitation, design things that can match the subject, express your own thoughts and also, differ from other designers. What a challenge! We don’t have much experience in holding exhibitions, but luckily, efforts and assistance from all designers make Wall an excellent performance. Wall designers all have design mania; it’s never an easy thing for people who have overloaded work almost everyday to squeeze their time for an exhibition.

Wall designers come from different areas; they work in design company, enterprise, school or simply work for themselves in studio or as freelancers. Usually, they stay in their position, designing products for their clients, products that they may have interests in or not. Attending this exhibition is an opportunity for them to relax; a precious burden you may say.

The role of a curator is to integrate both the quality and contents of the exhibition, and also, to make sure that works can be displayed at their best. Unfortunately it happened that designers are strange creatures with strong personality, it’s hard to reach consensus, and this becomes the most difficult problem for us. From the decision on products’ orientation to photo-shooting for our special issue, every detail deserves full attention.

What’s more complicated is the process of looking for sponsors and collaborators. In Taiwan, sponsorship in art-related activities has been carried out for years; some well-known enterprises even establish their own foundation to take care of art projects. But when it comes to design, the situation becomes a bit awkward; design is like an illegitimate child, people are aware of its existence, and also get use to its company, but still cannot make its existence widely known. It’s extremely difficult to find sponsors who are willing to cooperate with us; therefore, we would like to greatly thank sponsors and collaborators who support us this time and their expectation on Wall.