Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law & Technology

Tech Bias: What Happens When Your Algorithm is Racist

The algorithm is everything in our times. In the age of big data, automated algorithms that can help analysing large volumes of information in just a matter of seconds are the key to power.

But studies and researches carried out in the last few years proved that computerized algorithms often tend to favour one race over others. Yet it is also true that technology is not per se discriminatory and an algorithm is not "born" racist. Machine learning-based systems are indeed trained on the world we know and on the data they are fed. When an algorithm shows its "preferences" we talk about "algorithmic bias".

Sociologist Ruha Benjamin, highlights for example in her volume Race After Technology (2019) that robots (and technologies) can be racist as they are designed in a world drenched in racism, so they "learn to speak the coded language of their human parents – not only programmers but all of us online who contribute to 'naturally occurring' datasets on which AI learn." 

For example, if you consider how the Artificial Intelligence sector is dominated by men and that they are often white, you may easily come to one simple conclusion – they are the people who shape and inform this technology.

A quick example could be the algorithm Amazon experimented with a while back. The multinational company tried to employ Artificial Intelligence to create a tool to quickly screen resumes. While this was supposed to be an efficient way to scan job applications, it generated some controversies and Amazon stated it didn't use it in the end. The screening algorithm employed for this purpose was indeed trained on resumes the company collected for a decade, but they mainly tended to come from men, which meant the algorithm automatically learnt to exclude women (and you can discover more about algorithmically driven data failure specific to people of colour and women in Safiya Umoja Noble's Algorithmic Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism). 

There have been studies focused on racist algorithms in the health-care sector and, last October, one research revealed how decision-making software employed by some hospitals in the United States was discriminating against black patients with complex medical needs. In that case the algorithm showed favouritism towards white patients who were equally sick as the algorithm assigned black patients lower risk scores (according to one study 17.7% of patients assigned to receive extra care by the algorithm were black, but the research showed the proportion would reach 46.5% if the algorithm were unbiased). Other studies showed unfair and biased decisions carried out by algorithms in other fields, including criminal justice and education.

The latest example of algorithmic racism relates to fashion and occurred last week when Instagram banned a picture of model and influencer Nyome Nicholas-Williams by photographer Alexandra Cameron. Nicholas-Williams, 28, a plus-sized model who has worked for brands such as Adidas, Boots and Dove, has an impressive Instagram feed that she uses to spread body positivity and self-esteem.

In the picture taken by Cameron and banned by Instagram, Nicholas-Williams is portrayed with her eyes closed and arms wrapped around her breasts, looking like the portrait of bliss, something we genuinely need in our chaotic world currently gripped by the fear and anxiety of a global deadly pandemic.

Followers of the plus-size model loved the image and commented positively about it, but the post was taken down by the platform. Users complained and shared the censored photo of Nicholas-Williams under the hashtag #IwanttoseeNyome, and eventually the photo was restored. 

Now it is rather sad that a picture supposed to boost female self-esteem that wasn't even that revealing (no nipples in sight and nipples are the main cause of controversy on Instagram...), ended up being banned, while there are many pictures of scantily dressed thin white women (actresses, models, influencers and ordinary people) that were never the subject of any banning controversy. So in this case it felt as if the alghorithm, probably calibrated on white women with specific body standards, found a plus-size black woman's body offensive.  

The platform boasts over 15,000 people all over the world reviewing posts and trying to spot genuinely offensive materials, but Instagram has been often accused of discriminating against black people and even Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri admitted in June that the platform has to examine its "algorithmic bias", while Vishal Shah, the company's vice-president of product, announced in July that an internal Equity Team is working to eliminate any bias in their systems and policies. Yet, while the platform launched its #ShareBlackStories campaign to promote black voices, Instagram users are still reporting that their posts in support of Black Lives Matter are often suppressed and flagged as a political issue or as an election issue.

As stated above, Nicholas-Williams and Cameron (who has shot a series of beautiful portraits of the model that will hopefully become part of an exhibition or an art event) had their original posts from the shoot restored, but this is just a small victory as what happened to the model and the photographer is also happening to other users.

Mosseri recently posted on the social media platform a message stating the site stands "in solidarity with the Black community", and claiming they will be focusing on key points such as harassment, account verification, content distribution and algorithmic bias, starting with the Black community, and then trying to understand how to better serve other underrepresented groups, but it would be interesting to know (though impossible as nobody will ever reveal such data...) how specific algorithms behind these platforms are designed and, above all, what kind of data were employed to build and train them.

Will algorithms be able to perform fairly in future? Surely there will be ways to build fairer systems, maybe by experimenting more to find which variables cause bans and rerunning algorithms with other variables and with different datasets that could be suggested by a wider range of advisors (could we have for example Nicholas-Williams as one of the advisors suggesting variables?) from different backgrounds and communities (rather than just by a selected group of young white men...) who could work closely with people developing algorithms. Otherwise, such systems will continue to be absolutely accurate, but terribly unfair and unethical as well.

Vintage Trend from 1959: The Super Large Tote

Super large tote bags have been spotted on more than just one runway and lookbook in the last few seasons. You may for example remember Jacquemus's S/S 19 maxi straw bags, Opening Ceremony's super large tote (View this photo) or Moschino's Pre-Fall 2020 accessories. Yet this highly impractical trend that also inspired big bag memes, with dedicated Instagram accounts featuring bags digitally altered to gargantuan proportions, is nothing new, but comes and goes in fashion (as everything else, you may argue...).

In 1959, for example, the brand Rosa Bonheur launched an extra large bag with a colourful print of turquoise, green and fuchsia fish and sea urchins with a rope strap. It was conceived as a summer bag that could contain all the necessary items to go to the beach.

For the fans of the trend, the bag was also accompanied by a line of matching accessories, such as scarves, that allowed the fashionistas of the time to create a coordinated and fun look.

The Tech Cold War With Some Fashion Connections: Trump Vs TikTok & WeChat

On Thursday US President Donald Trump issued executive orders to ban the social media app TikTok. After 45 days, if the app is not sold by their Chinese-owned parent company, the order will stop "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with ByteDance Ltd." 

The video-sharing app came under fire over national security concerns: the order states indeed that TikTok "automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users", the collection of such data "threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans' personal and proprietary information -- potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage."

The order also claims that the platform censors or disseminates content that the Chinese Communist Party deems sensitive, such as protests in Hong Kong, China's treatment of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities and "debunked conspiracy theories about the origins of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus."

The deadline to find a US buyer for TikTok was set to September 15, after that date, the app will be shut down in the country. Trump also said (but the order doesn't state this) that a substantial amount of money from the deal would have to be sent to the US Treasury Department.

In a way, rather than being about protecting America, this move feels a bit more like a revenge: TikTok has indeed recently turned into an energetic platform for activism and in June users organised a stunt through the app, registering online for the free tickets to a Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but then not turning up at the event that ended up being sparsely attended.

Microsoft is in talks to acquire the video-sharing app, but Trump also issued a similar order for WeChat, a popular texting app owned by Tencent, a China-based company.

This popular social media platform boasts over 1.15 billion monthly active users in China, its mini-programs are also increasingly used by retailers to sell their products. Most Western messaging apps are banned in China, but US-based WeChat users can employ it to make business transactions, transferring funds, advertise and reach out to friends and family in China, besides, the group chat is also used as an interface for other apps. 

The order states it will ban "any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd. (a.k.a. Téngxùn Kònggǔ Yǒuxiàn Gōngsī), Shenzhen, China, or any subsidiary of that entity, as identified by the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) under section 1(c) of this order."
Yet, as stated above, apart from being used to communicate WeChat is employed for business transactions, something that may end up damaging those users based in the US who employ it for this purpose. Damaging WeChat may therefore mean damaging further also the US economy.

The platform's parent company, Tencent (worth $490 billion, it is the second-biggest company in Asia by market value after Alibaba Group Holdings), invested indeed in several American companies such as Tesla, Reddit and Spotify and also owns shares of American Epic Games (maker of "Fortnite") and Riot Games (and also of Finnish Supercell, for what regards videogames; Tencent Holdings actually invested in hundreds of overseas-based companies).

Tencent was initially mainly interested in videogaming companies, but in the last few years it reshifted its focus also on retail and fashion as well, also thanks to the influence of WeChat.

Last July the Qingteng Club, a group affiliated with Tencent Holdings Ltd., organised an event in California for host executives and celebrities from the Chinese and US online video industries that coincided with VidCon, a convention for fans of online influencers. The main purpose of that event was to encourage more US social-media stars to do business in China (one of the event panels was entitled "How Tencent could help your influencers' businesses in China").   

In February, since Chinese buyers couldn't take part in the runways shows in Europe as their country was locked down because of Coronavirus (Italy went into lockdown shortly afterwards), the Italian Fashion Chamber launched the "China, We Are with You" initiative, 29 catwalk shows broadcast live from Milan in collaboration with Tencent, that were watched by 16 million users according to the organisers.

Around the same time, London-based fashion e-commerce platform Farfetch raised $250 million from Tencent and U.S. investment firm Dragoneer, money that the platform will use to expand in China. Through the investment, Farfetch hopes to increase the exposure of Western brands to Chinese consumers through the WeChat platform (mini-program operators sell goods from more than 80 luxury brands on the WeChat platform).

Last but not least, the partnership announced last November between Tencent and British luxury brand Burberry brought something innovative to Shenzhen, China's technology hub - the first luxury social store.

Opened at the end of July 2020, the store is based on the "phygital" experience as it combines the more traditional physical retail store environment with social worlds and immersive digital experiences. Burberry worked closely with Tencent to design the space: products are labelled with scannable QR codes and the codes unlock additional information and stories.

The retail environment also features a dedicated WeChat mini-program that offers special contents, personalisation and rewards through the Burberry social currency feature and even the store's cafe has a menu that evolves when customers engage with the WeChat mini-program, unlocking new menu items. 

There are more TikTok (around 80 million U.S. monthly users) than WeChat users in America, but by banning "any transaction that is related to WeChat by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, with Tencent Holdings Ltd," as the order states, Trump may end up banning investments made by American companies in China, some of them linked with the fashion industry (see the Farfetch deal with Tencent and U.S. investment firm Dragoneer). Trump's executive order states that the apps from China threaten "the economy of the United States", but thinking about the deals and investments of US companies in China, you realise that the economy may genuinely be damaged not by Chinese apps but by Trump's orders. 

So what will happen in the future? Will it be possible to really ban TikTok and WeChat? Well, TikTok was banned earlier this year in India and it was forcibly removed from devices. But it may be even more difficult to do the same in the US, as Google, Apple and Microsoft, would have to enforce a ban and ensure users delete TikTok. Besides, there are companies in the US that collect more data from users, so if TikTok and We Chat are banned, then why not banning also Facebook?

So will Trump manage to enforce his order? We will have to wait till September to know, but, in the meantime, TikTok users are at work, thinking about ways to sidestep the ban and trick servers to make it look like they're browsing from other countries where TikTok is allowed.  

A Vintage Pattern for August

Since April we started posting one vintage sewing pattern a month. For August let's opt for something fun that may allow you to recycle old scarves and use what you have in the house if you aren't able to buy fabrics in case you're a Coronavirus lockdown (and you prefer going to the shop rather than ordering them online) or if you're short on money.

This is a classic, a top made with three scarves - one is used to make the back and collar, another for the front and a third for the sleeves and cuffs.

You can choose scarves in cotton, silk or acrylic fibers, it all depends from your tastes or from what you have in the house, but the design will look a bit better if there is a border running around the scarf The border will indeed allow you to highlight the contours of the top in a nice and balanced way.

The second image shows how to place the patterns on the scarves and how to cut them, while the third relates to the actual pattern [Parts: collar and sleeve; half front, half back; cuff]. The pattern, published on an issue of Italian magazine Grazia in 1959, was designed for an Italian 46 size (size 14 in the UK; and 12 in the USA) and each square corresponds to 10 cm. Enjoy the August project!

Paper Architectures & Other Stories

You don't need to be an expert tailor or fashion designer to fall in love with cutting patterns. It is indeed not rare to go to a vintage shop or antique market with a fashion section and meet cutting pattern enthusiasts who collect instructions to make garments as they consider these pieces as if they were art.

There are even artists who incorporate cutting patterns in their works or use them as inspirations for special projects and installations, while, in more recent years, patterns were also used for fashion campaigns.

So, if you fall into these categories, check out the vintage cutting patterns currently available on Tatami Antiques, an independent online marketplace for Japanese antiquities. 

One of its dealers, titcoRet, has indeed got on offer a folder containing several envelopes of Japanese cutting patterns.

These unique and rare patterns - dating from pre-war times, so around 1935-40 - relate to children's apparel.

One fascinating aspect is that they were made with newspapers, sections of adverts and letters, so there's a story in each piece of these patterns.

Each piece has also got a wonderful architectural shape, but if you're looking for more paper architectures, check out also the traditional noshi from the Showa period, 20th century (available from the same dealer, titcoRet).

The Noshi is a ceremonial origami attached to gifts to express good wishes or congratulations for special events.

These samples represent different shapes such as a tortoise, crab, butterfly, or geometrical figures and there's even a salt shaker or powder container.

Each finished piece - made by Matsuko Honda - in this case comes with methodical instructions showing how to fold the paper and also with a paper pouch. 

These items could be perfect even for videogame lovers who may not be into collecting art pieces, after all "Paper Mario: The Origami King", recently released on Nintendo Switch, has sparked again a trend for origami.

And if you love videogames, but you are also an antique collector, check out this white paper tiger (from dealer Jinta), with a shakable head. It looks like the perfect present for any "Animal Crossing: New Horizon" fan, doesn't it (View this photo)?

Architectural Shapes & Inspirations: Renzo Piano Vs Lanvin

In yesterday's post we looked at the newly opened San Giorgio bridge built in Genoa and designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

As seen in that post the shape of the bridge, the elliptical concrete piers, the deck designed like the hull of a ship and light colours for the coating of the steel elements are key features that contribute to give a lighter look to the structure, softening its visual impact.

Are there any collections out there that feature garments with these characteristics? Probably Bruno Sialelli's S/S 20 and A/W 20 collections for Lanvin. 

These collections featured indeed dramatic tailored outerwear pieces, cocooning curvilinear coats, round-shouldered suits and leather capes, futuristic helmet-like headpieces that wouldn't look out of place in a sci-fi series and sculpted wedges.

These shapes and silhouettes evoke in some ways the same architectural principles behind the San Giorgio bridge.

Looking for further architectural inspirations? Study the raised structures for the seating areas of the San Nicola Football Stadium, in Bari, Italy.

Designed by Renzo Piano and built for the 1990 FIFA World Cup (currently going through a restyling), the structure is located at the centre of an artificial depression reminiscent of a volcano's crater and the upper portion of the grandstand rises above the crater like a crown. Though Piano originally nicknamed it the "spaceship" for its futuristic shape, there is also a floral theme in the stadium as the upper sectors are separated from the lower ones, extending upwards and projecting outwards, like flower petals.

From Brutal Architecture to Elegant Lightness: The Genova-San Giorgio (Polcevera) Bridge by Renzo Piano

Two years have gone since an 80-metre section of the Polcevera Bridge in Genoa, Italy, collapsed during a storm killing 43 people. The bridge, designed by engineer Riccardo Morandi, was characterised by a system patented by Morandi himself.

Fascinated by the technology of concreting, the engineer focused his career on concrete cable-stayed bridges. His bridge on the Polcevera river featured three A-shaped frames on the main part of the structure with supporting decks connected by suspended girders. Similar in its structure to the Maracaibo, Wadi Kuf and Rio Magdalena bridges, the Polcevera bridge was considered an example of Brutalist architecture.

After the bridge fell, 82-year-old Italian architect Renzo Piano, a native of Genoa and known all over the world for iconic designs such as The Shard in London and Paris's Pompidou Centre, was appointed to design the new bridge (the design team included Project Director Stefano Russo and Project Architects Alessandro Zanguio and Alessio Montanari).

When he presented the project he had in mind, Piano emphasised two core principles, simplicity and light. He stated indeed: "The new bridge must be simple and straightforward, but not ordinary. It is going to look like a ship moored in the valley; a bright, clear steel bridge. During the day, it will reflect sunlight and absorb solar energy, and at night, it will return it. It will be a sober bridge, respecting the character of the Genoese."

Construction went on even during the Coronavirus lockdown in Italy and the bridge was officially opened today by the authorities.

For what regards the silhouette, Renzo Piano's bridge over the Polcevera - that he called Genova-San Giorgio Bridge - looks lighter and slender, definitely more streamlined, compared to Morandi's structure.

Inspired by urban bridges, the structure rests on 18 reinforced concrete piers (distanced 50 metres one from ther other, except for the three central ones that have a pitch of 100 metres) with an elliptical section of 4 metres by 9.5 metres. This elliptical section is actually a key feature of the bridge as the absence of sharp corners allows the light to "slip" on the surface, softening the visual impact and presence of the piers.

Another key feature is the fact that the deck, that is the surface of the bridge, is "isolated" from the piers through support devices that allow the bridge to "breathe" without there being any influence on its stability and strength.

The deck is designed like the hull of a ship, which means that it gradually reduces itself towards the ends, an expedient to soften the visual impact of the structure. Light colours were favoured for what regards the coating of the steel elements to make sure that this 1,100 metres snake of steel and concrete perfectly integrates with the surrounding areas.

Sustainability and technology weren't forgotten: while energy will be provided by 2,000 solar panels, the bridge integrates sensors and robots that will constantly monitor the structure and carry out basic maintenance.

This is a crucial point as the lack of maintenance was one of the causes behind the tragedy: when the bridge collapsed in 2018, Autostrade per l'Italia, Europe's largest toll road operator managing most of Italy's motorways, controlled by the Benetton family (via Atlantia SpA) since 1999, had failed to repair the pylon that collapsed. Spea (also owned by Benetton) was supposed to inspect the infrastructure. The two companies denied culpability, but the Italian government recently decided to renationalise Autostrade.

The new bridge is certainly not a cause for celebration as 43 people died in the tragic accident, but it is a symbol of what can be achieved when there is the will to get things done and overcome bureaucracy as well.

Italy is notorious for its slowness in completing major infrastructures and it has a long history of "opere incompiute", works left unfinished for one reason or the other.

Piano conceived the bridge as a white vessel crossing the Polcevera river and this seems to be a symbol of hope. Today, at the official opening, Piano called it "simple and strong, like Genoa", a bridge "made of steel but forged in the wind" and hoped it will become part of the lives of local people. He also emphasised that the structure will certainly be loved by many because it plays with the light, one of the components of all his architectures. 

There was a little craft side story to report about linked with the opening of the new bridge: the women of the Scuole Vespertine (Vespertine Schools; launched by the municipality of Genoa in 1897 with the aim of teaching adults and in particular women skills such as tailoring, knitting and embroidering) also contributed to this important day for the city of Genoa. They made face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (that were given to the authorities at the opening) and embroidered them with the Genoa flag, St. George's cross.

Coral Symbolism in Art

Mention summer jewellery and most of us will conjure up in their minds pieces incorporating shells or corals maybe. Yet there's more than just summer moods behind accessories made with such materials.

In a previous post we looked for example at the power behind a coral amulet, so let's move from that same material - coral - and from art, to discover a different meaning of a specific coral necklace as featured in paintings by Piero della Francesca.

The Madonna of Senigallia (dated between 1470 and 1485) painting for example depicts the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus flanked by two angels. Jesus is holding in one hand a white rose symbol of the purity of the Virgin Mary and is wearing a red coral pearl necklace with a coral pendant.

A similar necklace can also be seen on another painting by Piero della Francesca that was probably the inspiration for this one, the Brera Madonna (also known as the Pala di Brera, the Montefeltro Altarpiece or Brera Altarpiece, 1472-1474).

In the Middle Ages coral was used for teething, but coral necklaces of this kind were deemed to be talismans against danger and archaic symbols of protection of children.

In the case of the Holy Child, the red coral alludes to Christ's passion, the Eucharist sacrifice and redemption as it evokes the colour of blood (it may be worth noting that in both these paintings the angels also wear quite beautiful gold or pearl jewellery, but these luminous pieces hint at the celestial splendour of Paradise). Can you think about other paintings that feature striking pieces of jewellery with special meanings and symbolisms?

Conceptual Social Distancing Designs from the '60s: Ico Parisi's "Contenitori Umani"

Practicing social distancing to fight against Coronavirus has become the new normal in the last few months. Most public spaces have adopted signs, stickers and displays to remind us where we should sit, stand or stop, but maybe not many designers have developed projects with a conceptual twist about them inspired by the social distancing rule. If you're looking for inspirations from the past, check out the work of Ico Parisi (1916-1996). 

The Italian architect and designer studied in Lausanne and, from the '50s and throughout his career, he combined architecture and interior design with art. He designed experimental pieces, playing around with shapes, silhouettes and materials and creating elegant and timeless furniture for companies such as Cassina (his 875 armchair for them is a perfect example of a well-balanced design).

IIn 1954 he designed the Padiglione Soggiorno (Living Room Pavilion) for the X Triennale di Milano (Milan Triennial) and then his studio, La Ruota, founded with his wife Luisa in 1948, focused on private houses.

Already in the '50s Parisi started developing a concept for a living cell, conceived as an intimate and compact space for a human being, but he created the first prototypes of his highly experimental "Contenitori Umani" (Human Containers) in the '60s.

These pieces consisted in large blocks of expanded polyurethane foam with the outline of a human being resting or sleeping carved in the foam.

The block was supposed to be covered with a fiber glass and polyester resin shell, but the prototypes featured a sort of external metalic structure. The latter also featured four large metal rings that allowed the structure to be easily moved around.

Parisi devised different types of human containers - for one person or for a couple - this modular structure could be expanded with more containers that featured a studio or living room area, a playroom for children, a kitchen and a toilet.

The container was supposed to be electronically connected with a health support centre to monitor a resident who may have been ill without recurring to hospitalisation and there was also a container for children and young people that was instead connected with a central educational institution. Basically this modular structure allowed to change the composition of a house quickly by moving around the containers as if they were building blocks and choosing them in accordance with the needs of the people living in those spaces (this is also the main reason why the containers were devised as structures that could be hired rather than bought).

Simple, flexible and customisable, the human containers were supposed to be made in collaboration with artists and designers and Parisi researched some of these containers with Davide Boriani, Gianni Colombo and Gabriele De Vecchi, artists from the Milanese "Gruppo T", but in the end only two containers - for one person destined to meditation and sleep and for a couple, destined to intimate moments - were made in collaboration with sculptor Francesco Somaini.

There were obviously pros and cons behind these experimental designs: they were surely compact, flexible, modular and cheap spaces, representing a utopian form of design and a will to create innovative and futuristic habitable spaces, but they also hinted at modern society, new lifestyles, human self-destruction and alienation.

In a way Parisi's human containers anticipated modern social distancing, but also other aspects of our lives radically transformed by Coronavirus (think about online classes for students in our times and the way Parisi thought about a module connected to an educational institution) and they may still inspire contemporary designers new conceptual ideas to fight against this global pandemic.  

Back to Basics at Sonneveld House: Gijs Bakker's Jewellery & K. Schippers's Poems in Dialogue with Architecture

Museums and exhibitions have been slowly reopening all over the world after the long months of Coronavirus lockdown, but curators and event organisers have also been trying to come up with more intimate events that may be enjoyed by smaller numbers of people and maybe appreciated even more.

"Basics by Gijs Bakker and K. Schippers" (until 10th October 2021) at Sonneveld House, in Rotterdam, is one of such events and it is also an unusual exhibition of jewellery and poetry to be admired in a unique architectural context.

Renowned jewellery and industrial designer Gijs Bakker created throughout his career a variety of accessories and interior design pieces.

Dutch poet, prose writer and art critic K. Schippers (the pen name of Gerard Stigter) was inspired by the Dada movement - including artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Kurt Schwitters - and founded in the late '50s of the magazine Barbarber with J. Bernlef and G. Brands, which marked a shift from the expressive poetry of the Vijftigers to a focus on everyday reality.

While they both represent the creative arts, Bakker and Schippers also stand for different worlds - design and literature - and reuniting their creations in the same exhibition may seem rather odd.

Yet these two creative minds share something - a passion for examining what surrounds them and then reporting about it with words or through an iconic piece of jewellery. Besides, jewellery and poetry have something else in common and that's the fact that they convey a message in a compact form that can immediately reach out to people.

"Basics" features for example Bakker's "Plastic Soup" bangle (2012), inspired by the impact of plastic straws on the environment and made from straws in fluorescent colours covered with gold or silver, but also his "Black to White" necklace, a piece with the faces of Bakker's personal heroes, people of all skin colours.

This piece was created in 2016 to draw attention to persistent racism and xenophobia, but it is still relevant today (it is impossible to look at it and not think about the killing of George Floyd and the demonstrations that followed since then).

The jewellery (among the other pieces there are also Bakker's iconic abstract geometries from the '60s and his coloured stone butterfly brooch from 2008) and words on display around the house (poems are cleverly engraved on mirrors or printed on curtains) also create new connections and entertain alternative interpretations with the architecture of the house, a villa where people actually lived for many decades that was later on turned into a museum house.

Visitors can wander around the building (respecting obviously the Coronavirus restrictions), look at the jewellery, read the poems and make connections with the interior design (the majority of the furniture in the house was designed and manufactured by W.H. Gispen's company) on display and the architecture of the house, observing things from a distance and up close while thinking about the social activities that were carried out in the house in connection with spaces and objects.

Built between 1929 and 1933 Sonneveld House was designed by Brinkman & Van der Vlugt, one of the most important and most successful Dutch architecture practices in the inter-war years, the leading exponent of Functionalist architecture in the Netherlands.

Tea, coffee and tobacco manufacturer Van Nelle was Brinkman & Van der Vlugt's most important client in its early years and the directors of Van Nelle, including Albertus Sonneveld, commissioned the practice to design their own houses.

Albertus Sonneveld, his wife Gésine Sonneveld-Bos and their daughters Magdalena (also known as Puck) and Gesine (Gé) lived in Sonneveld House from 1933 to 1955. 

The house adheres to the principles of Functionalism - light, air and space (it is worth remembering that this is one of the best-preserved private houses in this style in the Netherlands) - and to the five points that Le Corbusier formulated in his book Vers une architecture (1921). In this case the building's function and the needs of the residents were more important to these architects than the building's monumentality, that's why this house was designed with efficiency in mind and was made with modern techniques and materials such as steel and concrete.

These are the basic principles behind Sonneveld House that visitors will have to take into consideration in conjunction with the "basics" of design in Gijs Bakker's jewellery pieces and K. Schippers's language to find new connection points between different arts.