Conceptual product designer Billie van Katwijk is fascinated by nature: that endlessly shapeshifting, growing, blooming, dying, sprouting, phenomenon. From these natural cycles, all sorts of materials emerge. Some are treasured (gold, oil, diamonds) while other materials remain unseen or unappreciated. Billie van Katwijk unravels the beauty of these materials. Slaughterhouse-waste becomes a luxury leather, a residue from the sewer shows its hidden colours when turned into a glaze. Cremation ashes are transformed into delicate porcelain. Van Katwijk believes in showing contradictions and taboos, but she doesn’t judge. Her projects seduce people to think and to engage in a dialogue. “My concepts are completed by the user, with his or her own thoughts.”

Lecture by	Billie van Katwijk
Language	English
Location	MDU 2022, Werkspoorkathedraal Utrecht (NL)