Five weeks ahead of the Olympic Games in Paris, India Mahdavi and Harry Nuriev team up to offer a ping pong game.
A ping pong room becomes more than an indoor sport, in the hands of the two creatives. Mahdavi has welcomed Nuriev, the multi-disciplinary artist and the founder of the design agency Crosby Studios, to collaborate at her Project Room gallery for its 14th edition: 'Match Point'.
Ping pong in Paris: Match Point by Harry Nuriev at India Mahdavi's Project Room
Nuriev transformed the 28 square meters Left Bank Paris space into a silver table tennis room, by covering the table, including the net, with metallic paint. It is paired with matching silvered rackets and stainless-steel legs. The walls, the floor and the curtain are also reflective. For 'Match Point, Nuriev also created rackets in polished stainless-steel (not for playing but as decorative objects).
The installation may have aspects of a kitchen unit showroom, an art presentation, or a space shuttle about to take off, but it is functional. The public is invited to jump in. Players might feel as if they were bots in a video game. Nuriev says, 'Playing at Match Point, it’s like you are a part of the digital world.'
'Project Room is a place of free expression for designers and curators,' explains Mahdavi. 'The whole idea is to connect a design community with the public. As a designer and also a scenographer, Harry does it in a fantastic way and attracts the community.
'Project Room also has a relation with domesticity, I mean, something you can do at home.' In this sense, and as a nod to the forthcoming Olympic Games, ping-pong was the perfect choice. Pointing at the big window of the gallery, she adds, 'Here, I like the fact that people can look inside. It’s not only an image. It’s humancentric.'
Mahdavi is known for the colourful furniture and tableware, offering a variety of texture. While Nuriev prefers a monochromatic universe, with silver as his signature. His latest celebrated designs are the book shelf and book-ends for Mise En Page at Le Bon Marché and set design for a popup restaurant produced by We Are Ona (all exclusively composed of stainless steel).
In spite of certain differences, both designers are playful. Nuriev says, 'We met several months ago and immediately found a chemistry. I didn’t want just to bring my world. Instead, I responded to India’s world. It was a kind of ping-pong.' This metaphor is shared by Mahdavi and she adds, 'Ping-pong is the interactivity between two parts. It is a good way to see how creative people play with each other and reveals how they create. You throw an idea and it comes back with a bouncing ball.'
At the beginning he saw the game table as design element. Then she philosophically expressed her focus on the togetherness. 'People often gather and exchange around the table.' Their visions were put together naturally, without any intensive battle.
When Nuriev says that his idea is to transform one thing to another, Mahdavi responds enthusiastically. 'The transformism tells how to put another vision onto the existing objects. Harry’s spontaneity and humour give a new perspective to the everyday objects.'
Playing at 'Match Point' is on a first-come, first-served basis, free of charge, until 2 August 2024
Project Room ~
29 Rue De Bellechasse
75007 Paris
