Eli Bensusan is a designer who combines the problem-solving methodology of an industrial designer with the critical approach of an artist. He uses design as a tool to move objects beyond their utilitarian function, giving them a new agency. He creates meaningful stories, and uses poetic and performative elements to change the user’s state of mind. His work has been installed at AZ West in Joshua Tree California, Sullivan Galleries in Chicago and Rosana Orlandi Gallery in Milan. He has been joining Birsel+Seck as a freelance designer and has worked for Demirden Design in Istanbul.
Objects of Presence (Object of Space & Object of Time)
Objects of presence, gives a new agency to the sailors’ sextant and the ancient Egyptian sundial, These performative measuring tools use the relations between astronomical objects and the human body to train the mind to come to awareness of its locus.
Consists of two objects that are designed to make their users acknowledge the ‘present’. Object of Space is a transformed sailor’s sextant, connecting and relating the user with the celestial objects and the terrain. Object of Time is a modified sundial, allowing the user to feel his body within duration. Various teachings from eastern spiritual beliefs to existential psychotherapy all emphasize the importance of achieving the “present state of mind”. Being present is the only true way to experience any activity to its fullest. Old measuring tools do not only help us measure our position, but also reveal the direct connection of our bodies with other objects. The interactive components of the tools are shaped to engage the body during the measuring of space and time, triggering a ‘performance of presence’. With these objects, finding physical position in space-time becomes a tool for centering the soul.
