The Crit #37: Tessa Silva
What do designers consider their proudest successes and deepest failures? The Crit, a fortnightly podcast from Disegno, has the answers!
For those new to the show, each episode sees Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford invites a guest to Kef Music Gallery to look back on their past projects. Our guest reveals what worked best; what failed; what pushed their career to new heights; what feedback most shaped their practice; and what they feel needs to be redesigned.
At the end of each episode, to complete their crit, they’ll be asked to give themselves a grade for their career to date: fail, pass, commendation or distinction.
It’s a design-school crit, delivered every fortnight! Subscribe to the show here, or sign up wherever you get your podcasts from.
Our thirty-seventh guest on The Crit is Tessa Silva, accompanied by show host Oli Stratford.
Episode #37: Tessa Silva
Tessa Silva is a London-based designer who makes objects that speak of embodied labour, gender and craft.
During her training at the Royal College of Art, Silva researched a method of making objects out of milk curds mixed with chalk, which she has continued to develop for 10 years. The bulged and bodily forms of her work have been exhibited at institutions including the V&A, the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna, and Collect.
Silva’s work highlights the ways in which materials can provoke sociopolitical debate and reflection. Her Feminised Protein project draws comparisons between the visceral realities of dairy production and the societal structures that obscure and devalue women’s contributions, while her latest project, Smock, invokes the gendered history of sewing by making furniture out of hand-stitched fabric.
During her crit, Silva talked about the triumph of figuring out how to make objects out of milk, understanding the possibilities and limitations of the material, and her dream of redesigning pubs.
Show Notes: Tessa Silva
Best design: Feminised Protein
Worst design: Martini glasses made from milk
Most successful design: Smock
Most impactful feedback: Comments from fellow designers during an informal crit group she started to get feedback on her work in progress
Dream design: Pubs
This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery London.
The Crit’s graphics were created by Leonhard Rothmoser.
The Crit’s music was created by Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki.