From the Series
Mexican artist and designer Pedro Reyes is interested in how an object is able to trigger an activity and how an activity can result in an object. At the 2013 What Design Can Do conference he elaborated on a few of his projects that bridge the gap between art and psychology.
On his project that transforms weapons into musical instruments: “Weapons produce fear and suffering in the world and music does the exact opposite,” says Reyes. His project seeks to look past the physical transformation and explore the psychological impact and social effect on people who have suffered violence and distress due to weapons.
If we are going to fight back violence, we have to start with art, says Reyes.
From violins to flutes and drums, Reyes extracts sounds from various pieces of metal to create an orchestra.
Looking at social upliftment in a playful and metaphoric way, Reyes’s Sanatorium project creates a space where people are able to discuss their lives through a game. People are able to have two or three sessions depending on their problem where they partake in a game in order to view their problem in a different light.
My projects combine games involving interaction, psychology and sculpture with a therapeutic aim and outcome, says Reyes.
He further spoke about his Museum of Hypothetical Lifetimes, which encourages people to become curators and exhibition designers for their own lives. “I believe this project opens a space for human connection,” says Reyes.
