The eponymous design gallery by curator Mia Karlova presents Design Dilemma, an exhibition which investigates some of the most pressing challenges facing designers today. With new works by Vadim Kibardin, Femke van Gemert, Anton Brunberg and Teun Zwets, the show, which runs from 16 September until 23 October 2021, delves into the practice of reuse while interrogating the source of creativity.

Mia Karlova comments: “United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports unprecedented changes to the global climate – some of which are irreversible. Heat waves, flash floods, wood fires and thousands of victims are all results of human influence leading to an exponentially warming climate. According to the report, the only way to prevent the worst scenarios is to start acting now in the most decisive way.”

Mia Karlova continues: “We live in a world of over-production, over-consumption and heavy traveling. We have been engaged in fast fashion for decades; we are increasingly realising this and starting to recognise the necessity of changing our habits.”

Design Dilemma looks at how these issues translate into the design industry by asking the following questions. Should designers also bear some responsibility for their impact on the environment? How should designers reconcile between the desire to create with the responsibility of overloading the planet with new works? Should designers use alternative, sustainable materials or adopt an entire circular making system? 

Mia Karlova Galerie’s new exhibition features four international designers whose practices reveal ways in which this design dilemma can be resolved. In an effort to seek a balance between the urge to innovate and the need to preserve the planet's natural resources, designers are increasingly choosing to work with discarded materials, giving them a new breath of life.