Jill Stevenson — SPILT MILK; a lesson in liquid, 2022

This chair manifests as an exploration into milk as a material and asks the question: can this liquid matter be turned into a solid form? A forgotten method of manufacturing plastics that precedes petroleum-based plastics is revived and used to explore matter, form and fragility. The protein extracted from milk is called ‘casein’, which coagulates and solidifies with the addition of vinegar, similarly to how cheese is made. Heat and pressure are then slowly and carefully applied to morph and sculpt the soft milky mass. Without the use of industrial machinery, the delicacy and subtleties of this material are observed. Equally elastic and fragmented, the resulting form is a product of its intrinsic nature and speaks to a dichotomy of industry and craft, and of force and time. 

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Jill Stevenson is an emerging interdisciplinary designer and artist based in Melbourne (Naarm/Birrarung-ga). Her interests lie in speculative and experimental design, focusing on the intrinsic qualities of materials and their place in our landscape; natural and built. Her work is research driven and adopts a constant questioning of matter, shape and context. The resulting musings are often articulated into detailed pieces with a playful approach to both theme and form. Jill completed an Associate Degree in Furniture Design at RMIT in 2021, and has exhibited in various exhibitions, including Fresh! in Melbourne this year. 

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The Chair 

Anna Varendorff, Ash Allen, Ashley Eriksmoen, Bern Chandley, Bonhula Yunupingu & Damien Wright, Brodie Neill, Brud Studia, Cordon Salon, Dean Norton, Duncan Young & Noah Hartley, Georgia Weitenberg, Isabel Avendano-Hazbun, James Lemon, Jess Humpston, Jill Stevenson, Johnny Nargoodah & Trent Jansen, Nicole Lawrence & Thomas Coward, Liam Mugavin, Marta Figueiredo, Michael Gittings, Sam Tomkins, Iain [Max] Maxwell & Ben Ennis-Butler, Trent Jansen for Broached Monsters by Broached Commissions, Two Lines Studio, Zachary Frankel.

Read more about The Chair here

'The Chair' exhibition is the first in a series presented by Craft Victoria honouring iconic objects of functional craft and design with a material driven approach.

Material: milk, vinegar, heat and pressure

Dimensions: 34 x 42 x 70 cm

One available. Please enquire with the team at Craft for details shop@craft.org.au or call +61 3 9650 7775