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Lost Romance pop-up experience in our showroom

At Whoppah, we like to give creativity space. That is why you can admire a beautiful art installation by design duo Daniëlle Malestein and Willemijn Bos in our showroom until 26 February, focusing on the theme of romance. In this installation, art and design fuse together to create a tantalising show that will set all your senses on edge. Daniëlle and Willemijn explain how the design came about:

Evelien
Evelien

What inspired you?

Daniëlle: "This pop-up installation was inspired by the 1850 artwork 'Heavenly and Earthly Love' by Dordrecht artist Ary Scheffer. This painting depicts two women who both symbolise forms of love. Heavenly, contemplative love elevated above earthly, active love. In our pop-up installation, we create a contemporary translation of this painting under our own title Lost Romance. An ode to love, to lost romance in this day and age and to nostalgia and an ode to second-hand design."

What role does second-hand design play in this?

Willemijn: "We live in a time when romance is sometimes far away. Artists of the art movement Romanticism tried to turn reality into dream and ideal images as an escape from harsh reality. We bring this yearning for nostalgia close by adding iconic second-hand design to our installation. Nostalgia connects people and that is where we found Whoppah as an ideal partner. Each object has its own story and past attached to it. The objects blend into the floating draperies (symbolising Heavenly love) and Meester in bloemen nature art (metaphor for earthly love). The installation symbolises our passion for beauty and belief in a positive sound over a negative sound."

Come see which design gems are part of this pop-up experience! Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00, Saturday 10:00-16:00, Sunday 12:00-16:00 Oregondreef 2, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Credits Concept and creation: Willemijn Bos & Daniëlle Malestein @bywillemijn @buonq.nl @duo_artistique Second-hand design items: Whoppah @whoppahsocial Nature art: Meester in Bloemen - Karin Looijesteijn @meesterinbloemen Creative team: Calou Jansen - haar & visagie @caloujansen, Jonathan van de Kraats - film @camvision.tv Mirror object: Iwaarden @iwaarden_artwork Models: Dominique van Leeuwen @dovleeuwen, Esmée Lemmers @esmeejesselyn Couture: Leobernard by Bryan Borghans @bryan_borghans, Silvy ten Broeke @silvytenbroeke SKUA Studio, SKUA Studio voor Schoenenkwartier @skua.studio, Tess van Zalinge @tessvanzalinge, T Label @_tlabel

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