To See a World in a Grain of Sand tells stories of time and place, and of our profound connection to the world we live in. A thorough analysis of sands collected by people from around the globe uncovers countless hidden histories. They are reflected in the different colours and textures of glass melted from 'wild' sands samples, highlighting their geographical diversity.
Cross-border/international
Netherlands
Other
worldwide
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It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-06-01
As an individual in partnership with other persons
First name: Lonny Last name: van Ryswyck Gender: Female Nationality: Netherlands Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Bergmannstraat 76 Town: Eindhoven Postal code: 5615 KG Country: Netherlands Direct Tel:+31 6 34455828 E-mail:info@ateliernl.com Website:https://www.ateliernl.com/
URL:https://www.instagram.com/ateliernl/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #ateliernl #zandglas #toseeworldinagrainofsand #aworldofsand #earth #wildsand #abundanceandscarcity
URL:https://www.facebook.com/AtelierNL/ Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): #ateliernl #zandglas #toseeworldinagrainofsand #aworldofsand #earth #wildsand #abundanceandscarcity
“Have you ever looked closely at a grain of sand? Imagined it as a small part of the world, with its very own story to tell?”
To See a World in a Grain of Sand is a project that maps the earth through small sand samples contributed by people worldwide, in combination with their personal stories attached to the place where the sand was found. Atelier NL fuses these ‘wild’ sands into glass specimens reflecting local geological diversity, which they show along with the original samples and the stories. All contributions are also mapped on aworldofsand.com. Together they constitute a rich and beautiful survey of sands, glass and memories. At the same time, they reveal the complex ecological and geopolitical issues at stake. It is truly our world, reflected in a grain of sand.
A key ingredient of concrete, cement, glass and asphalt, sand fuels global urbanisation. It is an indispensable component for the computer chips and fibre optics that define our digital age. Used in solar panels, it even plays a vital role in replacing fossil fuels. This makes sand one of the world's most widely applied and sought-after natural resources.
We may think there is more than enough of it but the ‘pure’, angular sand the industry demands is far more scarce than most people know. It is only found in the sea and river beds, on some shores and in local quarries. ‘Pure’ sand is quickly becoming scarce, and mining it increasingly devastates the environment.
Atelier NL has devoted years of research and experimentation to learning how to work with impure, local sands as the basis of their glass products. They do not propose this as a direct alternative for industrial glass, but to show that we can rethink the processes that inevitably lead to the depletion of our planet. Atelier NL’s general aim is to reconnect people with their natural surroundings, making them aware of the precious resources beneath their feet and how they are intertwined with social, historical and individual stories
earth
belonging
abundance and scarcity
ecological significance
resources
The sand that the industries are using is quickly running out, mainly as a result of advancing urbanisation, land-reclamation projects and the use in the fracking industry. Mining it is devastating the natural environment in many places. To See a World in a Grain of Sand encourages people to think more critically about the origins of the objects and materials they are surrounded by. It does this in a very positive, engaging way (see the next question) which makes it an outstanding example of social design that is directed towards changing peoples’ perceptions.
Apart from awareness, the project also aims to demonstrate how the obsession with ‘pure’ materials (to meet the demands of efficiency and industrial standards), completely alienates us from valuable local diversity, the quirks and deviations that add character to locally produced items. Thanks to extensive research and experimentation, Atelier NL has shown that it is possible to make glass from nearly any type of ‘wild’ sand, maintaining and highlighting their particular qualities. On a small scale, it defies the industry by creating beautiful drinking sets from local glass. Much of the technical ceramic knowhow that goes into their production has been gained by creating the glass samples that are presented in To See a World in a Grain of Sand.
As part of a strong case for the potential and importance of local resources for a more sustainable production, ‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’ is exemplary in the way it involves the audience. Without the many different samples people sent, Atelier NL would not have been able to find near-universal recipes to make glass from ‘wild’ sand. It is also exemplary for the tireless efforts of Atelier NL to engage with the science and overcome all practical problems to make this project possible.
The objective of many of Atelier NL’s projects is to make people more susceptible to the valuable natural resources in their direct environment, like clay, wood or sand. Atelier NL reconnects people to nature by involving them in the research and collection of local materials or the production of their design. ‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’ is a good example of this approach. By simply asking people to collect a specimen of sand from a place that has meaning to them, and showing how it may be used (to make glass), Atelier NL gently nudges them to reflect on this material and its significance for our way of life.
Meanwhile, people’s environment is not just the place where they live. It can be the place where they go on holiday, where they studied or met their spouse – it can be the entire globe. This is what the presentation of the sand samples and the resulting glass specimens accomplishes to show. Hundreds of different bottles and containers with a variety of sands give a dazzling impression of different places, cultures and people. The transformation into glass adds unity in diversity by the standard cups Atelier NL uses to smelt the sand. Here, the wide range of colours displayed in gradients invites reflection on both nature and the human race with its beautiful variety.
Perhaps most importantly, the people who participate in the project contribute their individual thoughts and memories. While some may reminisce of love and special experiences, others will raise alarming issues from pollution and violence to environmental degradation, weaving their personal stories into a much wider narrative of connection, care and concern. With no trace of doom or condemnation, ‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’ reconnects people to nature and allows them to reflect personally on its exploitation. The project is exemplary in the positive, spontaneous way it transforms humble materials and personal stories into a large, fascinating collaborative presentation.
‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’ does not offer solutions that people benefit from in a material or political way. We do intend it to allow anyone around the world to participate in an ongoing and developing design project that has the potential to transform the way people experience and perceive their surroundings.
The original call for people to send in sand samples was mainly distributed through the network of Atelier NL. Naturally, it reached a lot of Dutch people interested in design. Although they may not represent a global community, they do travel widely, resulting in a varied collection of sands. What is more, the first participants told people they met about the project, which led to contributions from people living in less privileged circumstances, like Tsion Adwa and Mekdes Dawit, who were raised in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, or Kgomotso Molosiwa, who collected sand from Nelson Mandela’s home in Soweto.
Wherever To See a World in a Grain of Sand is exhibited, we ask local people to participate as well. In terms of accessibility this may cut postage fees, when people can hand in samples in person. Our lectures and workshops reach a very diverse audience. The project travelled to Germany, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Italy, Span, Lithuania, Sweden, the US, China, Thailand and South Africa, gradually expanding the diversity of the participants, while the ‘sand bank’ has grown to over 826 samples from 92 countries. Clusters on the world map of aworldofsand.com hint at places where we presented To See a World in a Grain of Sand.
We like to highlight the open and ongoing character of the project, that allows for different local approaches. An exhibition in Virginia (US) for instance, had a much more political character connected to slave trade, while the exhibition La Manufacture: a Labour of Love in World Design Capital Lille focused on manufacturing and sustainability.
When we first put out a call for people to send us a sand sample and share the story why it was significant to them, we did not expect the response to be as overwhelming as it has been. In one year alone we received over 550 sand samples from 70 countries, allowing us to reveal the unique colours and textures of glass from all over the globe. The project is ongoing, the exhibition we made is travelling, and each time, people contribute more sand samples and stories. Obviously, To See the World in a Grain of Sand would not be possible without these contributions. But they also expanded the scope of our original idea. We expected people to share small, personal stories, memories connecting them to a specific place and time. And many stories do have this personal character, but they open up perspectives on a wide area of contemporary global challenges, from conflict and environmental degradation to economic inequality and assistance to refugees. It is no exaggeration to say that the participants revealed a potential of the project we had not anticipated. Now, as the collection of stories continues to grow, it becomes a database for us to draw upon for new initiatives surrounding the same themes. Our next exhibition, during Oerol Festival on the island of Terschelling, will be based on stories about the impact of global exploitation of natural resources from To See the World in a Grain of Sand.
On a practical level, the many samples people collected from so many different places, allowed us to experiment with a wide variety of sands to find out how to make glass out of them. The different grain sizes and many ‘pollutants’ that reflect different geographical histories, make it a real challenge to find a recipe that works for any kind of sand – but at the same time, we can now say that we succeeded.
The first stakeholders are the people who send us their sand samples, along with their stories. We already discussed above how their contributions impacted the project, but we like to stress that without their overwhelming response to our calls, the project would not have become so relevant. Apart from the varieties of sands, their stories are of immense value in bringing people’s relation to their environment to live. The people who contributed can’t be situated collectively on a local, regional, national or European level. The original response was predominantly regional (Eindhoven area) and national (the Netherlands). As To See a World in a Grain of Sand is exhibited in more places, we transcend this level, like we saw for instance in the US following an exhibition in the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk (Virginia). It translated directly into more entries on aworldofsand.com.
The next stakeholders are the museums and exhibition spaces. At the national level, we collaborated with Museum van Bommel van Dam to invite their audience to participate in the project, during a large retrospective of Atelier NL. In various European cities local audiences were called upon to send in their sand samples this way. We collaborated or instance with Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein, DE), Design Museum Gent (BE), European Glass Context 2021 (Bornhom, DK). Typically, it is more common for museums to purchase works of art for display. These collaborations, however, encourage a new relationship with the institution and its public by facilitating an exchange where the people themselves are collaborating in the expansion of the work in situ. It also creates strong connections between art and the public, as they can see their own contributions and stories of places, memories, concerns reflected in To See a World in a Grain of Sand.
‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’ is part of Atelier NL’s ongoing investigation of the use of ‘wild’ sands for the production of glass that connects to specific geographic and social histories. There are several disciplines and knowledge fields involved, from geology and chemistry to history and economy. Of course, glass-making expertise is an important part of it, as is the social design aspect.
A major influence to our work with sand was the late geologist and sand specialist, Michael Welland, who was our expert contact on the overarching history of the material. His book titled, ‘Sand: A Journey through Science and the Imagination’, has greatly impacted the way that we discern and understand the importance of sand in our world. We now collaborate with Joop Okx, of Soil, Water and Land Use at Alterra – Wageningen UR.
We collaborated closely with experts from Glaslab Philips and the National Glass Museum in Leerdam. We still benefit a lot from the expertise of master glass blower Gert Bullée (NL). He helped us to built our own kiln and assists in melting the sands into glass. To create our GlassService, we collaborated with mould maker and glass blower Marek Bartko (CZ). To analyse the exact composition of the different glass samples, we collaborated with Pim de Mechelaar of mining company Sibelco and with Edwin van Ommeren of TCKI, the Technical centre for the Ceramic Industries in the Netherlands.
The social design was mainly our own work; we created the concept and were largely responsible for the implementation, including communication. For the website, however, we relied on the expertise of creative agency HeyHeydeHaas.
How to measure the impact of ‘To See a World in a Grain of Sand’? Hundreds of people from all over the world contributed to the project by sending their samples and sharing their stories. This way, they were encouraged to think about their relation to their environment and what a specific place means to them. Visitors of the exhibitions can read people’s notes with the sand samples, and anyone can browse them online. Some examples may show how diverse these reflections are:
“Punsiri and Arthur will be mother and father soon. We visited this temple Wat Umong together for praying for the baby.” Punsiri Sakulwirote (TH)
“This is sand from a dune which will disappear because of natural erosion like wind, seawater and storm.” Ester van de Wouw (NL)
Stefan Benade (ZA) writes: “The sand was collected near the ancient intertidal stonewall fish traps (visvywers) that were built by the Khoi at least 3000 years ago.”
With To See the World in a Grain of Sand we participate in numerous national and international exhibitions, we give lectures and conduct workshops all over Europe and worldwide. It is impossible to estimate the number of people we reached in this way, some events where the project was presented in welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors.
The innovative character of the project consists in two things. First, research and experimentation are an integrated part of the design method. We collaborate with experts from various fields, we built our own kiln and developed our own recipes. Where the glass industry works with standard, ‘pure’ sand, we make it our aim to work with a wide variety of ‘wild’ sands. We work with glass blowers who would normally use industrial glass pallets, now they need to adjust their techniques to the more unpredictable glass we give them. Because we are able to make glass from locally-sourced sands with all their idiosyncrasies, we can incorporate less tangible things like ‘place’ or ‘connection’ in glass objects – which is pretty innovative as well. The glass embodies people’s relationship to their environment.
The second innovative feature is the way Atelier NL involves the audience. Obviously, co-creation is nothing new. The innovative character – and we might say this is a bit of a lucky co-incidence – lies in the enormous impact in relation to the minimal efforts asked of participants. All they need to do is to contribute a small sample of sand, a picture and a few lines on where it was collected, and why there. Atelier NL collects, inventories, maps, transforms and displays the materials: they do nearly all the work, and the outcome is a typically Atelier NL presentation. And yet the larger narrative that emerges from the samples, the glass and, in particular, from the texts, is being created by the audience. Atelier NL has not asked people to reflect on any specific themes; just what the place means to them. The collective stories then form an intricate, powerful account of how we, humans, relate to nature and to the world around us.
At Atelier NL we have been developing and refining methods to make glass from locally sourced sand for years. Our approach is based on systematic research and exchange with experts from fields like geology, chemistry and history. By now, we have attained good practical and theoretical knowledge of the materials and the equipment we are using to create glass, which allows us to take on new challenges (see next question). While elaborate research and experimentation is not an aim in itself, it has become a hallmark of our design approach to incorporate the test results in our presentations. We visualise knowledge by showing the entire process, from the raw material to the final object, and have developed our own aesthetics of presentation. Sometimes, as in To See a World in a Grain of Sand, there is no particular object, just the materials and the tests. We have pioneered and developed this approach since [jaar??], and it has been widely recognised as typical Atelier NL.
There is a second aspect to our approach, which is its participatory, social nature. We always engage local communities in our projects, to help us collect resources and stories – as happened in To See a World in a Grain of Sand – or to (also) contribute to production. We use this approach not to make our work easier (quite the contrary) but to invite people to reflect on the themes that matter most to us: the urgent need for humans to re-establish a healthy, sustainable connection to their natural environment, and the role local resources can play in visualising, expressing and developing this connection. Atelier NL does not have one standard method to engage people: we use storytelling, challenges, crowd-sourcing, crowd-funding, walks, workshops and so on, in a positive, playful, respectful way. The unifying element in all these methods is that they (re)connect the participants to their local natural environment. To See a World in a Grain of Sand is a clear example of this approach.
The project allowed us to develop glass recipes that work for nearly any type of ‘wild’ sand. The research and the knowledge we gained, can be used in many different projects. For instance, we make our ZandGlas using sands from specific locations. These drinking sets are often purchased by people with a special attachment to a certain place, making them reflect on the natural resources, and the geographical and social histories of their environment. As mentioned above, we apply our approach to other natural resources as well, like clay and wood. Working with these materials, we can engage many different communities. We currently work with a group of elderly people, for example, to help us produce coffee cups from various local clays. In our work with design students, we try to impart some of our methodology and knowledge to them, as well as a sensitivity to local natural resources. Apart from our own various uses of the methods developed in this project, we are also looking to transfer our expertise to other beneficiaries. The most recent and exciting example is MineGlass, a project we are doing in South Africa with sands dug up in the mining of precious minerals. Together with our local partners, Design Indaba and Ngwenya Glass Company, we are been building a kiln and researching the viability of using the (often polluted) waste sands from six mines around Johannesburg. The results so far have been very encouraging. We also experimented with sand from a local vineyard to make wine bottles and glasses unique to the estate. There are many more instances where our project translated to other fields and disciplines. For his master's thesis at Delft TU, Has Minkels researched the possibilities to use desert sands to make glass, using some of the samples we received from all over the world. A lecture for Design Indaba in Kaapstad (attended by over 3,000 people) led to an invitation to conduct a workshop in Rome for a group of real estate concerns.
To See a World in a Grain of Sand is, in the first place, about sand – obviously. It just doesn’t occur to many people that we are quickly running out of it. The vast amounts of sand used in construction, land reclamation, fracking and the production of solar panels cannot possibly be offset by using local resources, nor can our project undo the stupefying damage inflicted on land, seas, rivers and shores. The local solutions which we continue to develop do help to reconnect people with natural resources from their environment, and ultimately with the world as their only home. To See a World in a Grain of Sand shows how local, ‘wild’ sand can be used to create beautiful glass that reflects all the peculiarities of a particular place, its geological, social and historical characteristics. As we have highlighted above, this project, with its focus on a humble resource and brief personal annotations, has turned into a near-universal account of what it means to be connected with the earth, how precious it is, and how much we need to protect it.
