MECCA X NGV Women in Design Commission

Known for her game changing thinking and groundbreaking approach to design, Netherlands-based designer Christien Meindertsma asks us to imagine a new material future, enabled by creativity, ecological thinking, and emerging technologies.

Over the past two decades, the famed designer has produced objects, textile and furniture works exploring wide-ranging subjects; from animal by-products, to flax, and forestry. Meindertsma uses design to investigate complex problems, and in her most recent research she has developed a new fabrication method using waste and recycled wool that demonstrates the material’s unique properties and potential uses – its softness, strength, warmth, acoustic and biodegradable properties.

For the Commission presented at NGV in October 2024, Meindertsma will produce her most ambitious work to date; a large-scale form made from European wool that would be otherwise disposed of, revolutionising the ways that waste wool can be re-purposed. Developing a world-first robotic technology for 3D felting in collaboration with Netherlands-based company Tools for Technology, the designer will show us how it is possible to build structural, three-dimensional objects from wool and invite us to consider how we may embrace a new material era.

On a mission to recognise the work of female-identifying designers and architects from around the world, the MECCA x NGV Commission series invites these creatives to produce a new work for the NGV Collection. Through MECCA’s social change program, M-POWER, and the power of art and design, together, we aim to champion opportunities for women and girls towards an environment of equality.

The five year series is supported by MECCA M-POWER, a social change initiative that aims to champion equality and opportunity for women and girls, including elevating women in art and design.

The NGV warmly thanks MECCA for supporting the acquisition of these works.