Object Permanence – Objeu Collection, a collaboration with Leila Pazooki, Beirut Design Week, May 2017

‘Objeu’, a term created by the French poet Francis Ponge, contracts the French words ‘Objet’ (object) ‘Je’ (I) and ‘jeu’ (play),  and refers to how some words have multiple meanings and associations. This concept formed the initial inspiration behind Objeu Collection, a collaboration between Milia Maroun and Iranian artist Leila Pazooki.

For these women, both mothers, design has always been a pillar of emotional survival. With the wider question ‘Is design a need?’, the artist and designer explored relationships between mother and child, distance and closeness, attachment and separation. Using a variety of materials, media and concepts, Milia Maroun and Leila Pazooki created a collection of ambiguous, multi-layered pieces which crossed the boundaries between art, design, and even psychoanalysis, illustrating in a fresh and nuanced way the role design plays in motherhood and everyday life.