Lee Ben David - product design

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With this idea, I think it's creative to have different cutleries for different actions. However, I think it's pointless as we could use our hands instead. However, I like the aesthetic of it. As this was made using laser, hopefully, I could work with this medium and create these clean and sharp products.

As I was interested in how Lee Ben David came about this idea, I decided to do some research. Here's an exclusive conversation she had for MOLD.

MOLD: What was the inspiration behind this “unnecessary cutlery” set?

Lee Ben David: Cutlery has been in existence for centuries. Our ancestors created tools to make the food they’d collected edible, such as skewers used for cooking meat on the fire. Even our older ancestors—primates—use sticks to acquire food.

One may think that cutlery plays an essential part in our consumption of food. However, today the cutlery and cooking tools market is saturated with too many options. Considering the hygiene standards of the Western world, we could cook and eat most food with our hands. Additionally, most existing cutlery simply creates an unjustified and unnecessary duality, further increasing our detachment from nature.

I’ve chosen to explore cutlery over other forms because it deals with one of our most basic instincts—the consumption of food—and it only seems natural to “reach out” and take it. We’ve seem to have forgotten how much fun it was to eat cake with our bare hands as kids.

While researching various kinds of existing cutlery in order to design my own set, I realized the absurd numbers and variations of available cutlery: whether it’s a knife designated only for fish, or a fork originated only for salads. Therefore, I’ve decided to demonstrate the extreme situation we’ve gotten into, using my “Very Specific” cutlery set.

Like anything else in this world, I believe it all comes down to a question of balance. We obviously require protection from nature’s threats, such as sunscreen to decrease UV radiation and shoes to protect our feet from boiling cement. However, the world offers us a unique set of feelings which can only be exposed by direct contact with nature itself. Additionally, if we would disconnect entirely from the “world,” we would become more vulnerable to nature’s risks: a kid who has never played in the sand would probably be less immune to different diseases.

Part of my inspiration came from the famous 19th-century dancer, Isadora Duncan, who decided to put aside her dancing shoes, in order to feel the world through her feet while dancing.

What were your design considerations? What was the process like?

I researched the hand gestures we perform using cutlery, categorising the different “dimensions” we use with each piece. Then, I decided to create transitions from one dimension to another, bending and twisting the metal. This made a new user experience, directing the user to the required action. Furthermore, the shape of the metal allowed the springiness required for some of the pieces.

https://thisismold.com/object/tableware/lee-ben-david-very-specific-cutlery

Interestingly, she didn't pick the designs because they were aesthetic but had made some research: hand gestures used when using cutlery. Before finding this, I thought it was a bit extreme that she was making cutlery that allowed us to do specific things, but she did this to demonstrate the extremities. And I entirely agree with the idea of how most cutleries are unnecessary. We could use our hands for other activities like eating. So many years ago, people used to eat with sticks and their hands, so why not us? I don't think cutlery is as important as people make it out to be. Unless, rather than buying a batch of different cutleries, the main cutleries like spoons, knives and forks could be made but are all connected. So, rather than having three different cutleries to do three other things, we could have a 3-in-1. I found it interesting that David did some research on hand gestures. In the future, If I were to create an interactive product, I need to see how people would interact with my product rather than picking a design or material just because it looks aesthetic. Yes, aesthetic is important but is that what will keep people coming to your work? No, it's how they use the product you create. If it's functional and creative, it works.

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