In the work Dubbelglas Arnout Meijer questions the double morality of creation and destruction inherent in design. They seem to be opposite actions, but the current ecological situation shows that creation is also destruction. Whether it is mined, cut down, carved out or expropriated, for every design material is sacrificed. And a manufacturing process not only creates a product but also several waste flows. We celebrate creation. But what often remains invisible is the destruction.

In collaboration with Superuse Studios LCA schemes for glass were developed, a science-based method used to evaluate the environmental impact of windows throughout its entire life cycle. It considers all stages, from raw material extraction to disposal and recycling.

The works in Dubbelglas bring hidden and concealed remnants to the surface. Engravings have been made in windows from demolished buildings and discarded shards from a glass factory that refer among others to the moon, for Meijer a symbol of an undamaged landscape. The drawings in the glass are illuminated by using parts of discarded appliances. The glass fragments are enclosed in wooden constructions sawn from old beams and ‘dead stock’ plinths left from demolished museum exhibits at New Institute in Rotterdam.

But Meijer realizes that he cannot fulfill his utopian desire to create without destruction. Every act of making consumes something. Dubbelglas is the tragic reflection that as creative beings we always create destruction.

‍