Droog presents Fantastical Investments, an exhibition in collaboration with Methaven that presents the findings of Droog Lab’s study of consumption habits in Russia.
Happening at Droog in Amsterdam until 2 October 2011, Fantastical Investments is an imaginary luxury brand, F1. A collection of nine products act as a vehicle for discussion on the “co-existence of fiction and survival in a new vision of luxury”.
Renny Ramakers explains that the aim of the project is to understand the relationship between the apparent contradictions in the consumption habits of Russians. On the one hand you have a deeply engrained reading culture in Russia and on the other hand there’s their reputation for lavish spending.
Working with the Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design Droog Lab found that many consumption patterns in Russia emerged from a context of institutional distrust. As such, acquiring durable goods can be seen as a survival strategy, much like hoarding or investing in gold.
Droog explains the aim of the project: “Fantastical Investments brings together imagination, luxury and survival, anticipating a gradual dissipation of the 20th century institutional backup for civil life.”
