EXD’05 The Medium is the Matter

Guta was non-executive director and artistic and curatorial co-director fo the 4th edition of the biennale

The 4th edition of experimentadesign – Bienal de Lisboa took place between September 15 and October 30, 2005. Under the theme “The Medium is the Matter”, EXD’05 addressed mediums and materials of transmission that are perceptible within the gap between those who create and those who receive.

The theme for the 2005 edition of experimentadesign closes a cycle. In 2001, ‘Modus Operandi’ reflected an interest in the specific modes of cultural production in the various areas of design, art and architecture; in 2003, the theme ‘Beyond Consumption’ laid the foundations for a broader discussion around the figure and position of the consumer, the spectator and the user. “The Medium is the Matter” was centred on means of communication and the importance of the message, as well as of the actual process of interaction, as generators of content and meaning.

This edition integrated 18 events with 226 participants, welcoming 101,234 visitors. Among the most emblematic events of EXD’05 was Stefan Sagmeister’s urban intervention, part of his ongoing project, “Things I have learned in my life so far”, which has been presented around the world.

“The Medium is the Matter” focused on the media and communicative objects – a universe where the matter sometimes seems less important than the messages it conveys and where the interactions between those who create and those who receive become the real product.”
(Max Bruinsma, Guest Commissioner)”