Silo Studio: Art, craft or design?

Responses to Silo Studio´s collection of polystyrene furniture by Attua Aparicio and her partner Oscar Wanless are never neutral. Some people think it´s bizarre, others that it´s like stage scenery for a production of Hansel&Gretel on acid, while everyone seems to find it intriguing, compelling and fun.

The pieces, none of which can be replicated exactly, are the result of Aparicio and Wanless´s tireless experiments with polystyrene. “We set up our studio in London last year to experiment with industrial processes and apply them to craft”, explains Aparicio, 30, who met Wanless while studying at the Royal College of Art. “We were particularly interested in polystyrene, which is used for packaging the world over, but seldom as a material for a product in its own right, let alone furniture”

“We are trying to create pieces that are striking and powerful and which push the possibilities of the material” says Aparicio. Is it art or design? I don´t mind what you call it. I think it is the sort of thing you might collect and you learn to live with it. And then if it weren´t there one day, you´d find you miss it”

Silos has also developed its first jewellery collection, a series of polystyrene bangles in different colours and irregular shapes. Teenagers and fashion stylists after the next big thing in costume jewellery will surely be beating a path to their door.