Two approaches to the reality of the table that Graham Harman equally considers unreal, suggesting a third table, equidistant between the first and second, that exists independently of our consciousness.
In the book What is it For?, the writer Sara Ahmed traces the question of use. She does so by analyzing the impact that utilitarianism had, outlining the different interactions through which we relate to the world through use. The book questions Heidegger's determinism and considers use as something that goes far beyond its intended function, proposing a queer use of things: how to make things usable for purposes that were not initially foreseen.
Press is a collection of wall fixtures conceived as reading lights that, through their form, reimagines the interaction of light with the user. Designed from a semi-spherical aluminum structure that, gently pressing it, works as a switch, turning on the light.
Together with Alba, Press integrates the collection of the Barcelona Design Museum and, since 2021, forms part of the permanent exhibition Common Objects. Local Stories, Global Debates, curated by the historian and designer Oriol Pibernat.
From an intuitive use, Press evokes an emergency push button, an object that acts like the key from The Key of Berlin or How to Make Words with Things, from Bruno Latour, imposing a "strict collective discipline" that the lamp liberates, allowing us to interact without fear of reprisals.
Press explores the empathetic and supportive relationship of utility, enabling, through the familiarity with its use, a more enduring connection.
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