April 12–June 15, 2014
An Artistic commentary on our Consumer habits that may have us questioning our next purchase.
Peddy Mergui, Milk by Apple; Peddy Mergui, Orange by Nike
Wheat is Wheat is Wheat is the creative vision of artist Peddy Mergui, the series explores the interstice of design and ethics, and examines the designer’s role in a field designated to give shape to an idea, while recruited to effectively serve economic interests.
Mergui exaggerates the aesthetic and conceptual triggers that influence consumer trends and manipulate the relationship between an object and an ideal. Through the creation of supermarket environment vignettes, in which products are re-branded, Mergui presents basic grocery items with well-known luxury labels and aesthetics, effectively turning a viewer’s perception of quality on its head. Works in the series borrow their forms from the world of consumption and their concepts from the field of consumer ethics. They expose the often arbitrary connection that a product has to its packaging, and the conditions in which a designer operates.
Consumer validation is a recurring theme for Mergui; what does a customer actually purchase when he or she pays top dollar for a “BRAND” of wheat flour, or table salt? Does the consumer place higher value on the packaging than the condition of the item inside and its ability to fulfill its advertised need?
Wheat is Wheat is Wheat: Peddy Mergui
March 2014, San Francisco, CA – The Museum of Craft and Design is pleased to present Wheat is Wheat is Wheat: Peddy Mergui, April 12–June 15, 2014. Featuring the work of
About Peddy Megui:
Peddy’s personal experiences – from leaving Morocco as a small child and moving to Israel, to exploring the beauty of Japanese culture as a young adult – play an essential role in his design process desire to challenge the status quo. As both the owner and founder of the design studio Talking Brands, and a leading professor of design at the Holon Institute of Technology, Peddy has over 20 years of practical industry and academic experience in the world of design and branding. Known for his ability to translate graphic language and visual communication into “rule-breaking” designs and concepts, Peddy has led hundreds of diverse advertising campaigns as well as a wide variety of projects involving brand building, packaging and product perception.
Throughout his career, Peddy has been awarded a multitude of honors for his work including winning a national design competition in 1996 for which he received national recognition. It was this same year that Peddy established his own firm and began his journey towards becoming one of Israel’s leading designers. In addition to his work in Israel’s business sector, Peddy is both a lecturer, former Head of the Design Department and a Senior Staff member at the Holon Institute of Technology (H.I.T.). Lecturing on branding, packaging, and visual communication, Peddy brings to the academic arena a perspective that integrates both his work in the studio and leading methodologies, directions and design trends from around the world.
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Exhibition sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest in San Francisco.
Exhibitions and programs generously supported by the Windgate Charitable Foundation and Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.
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For more information or interviews contact: [email protected]
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