In recent years, contemporary art and design have become increasingly removed from the notion of creation as the production of something entirely new. Rather, many artists have become interested in what already exists: the fragments, remnants, and infrastructures that surround us and are often overlooked or forgotten. Within this cultural shift, materials are no longer considered neutral substances but rather as bearers of memory. Rust, erosion, and decay are no longer considered errors to be eliminated but rather as signs of history. History of lives, systems, and environments that have passed through them. 

Such a notion of materiality and creation is a part of a larger cultural shift in awareness of the world in which we live. Living in an age of ecological concern and the patina of industrial production, artists and designers have become increasingly interested in the archaeology of the everyday. Objects are no longer considered as something to be shaped or molded in form but rather as something to be read. Through processes of reuse, transformation, and recontextualization, materials are given new meaning while retaining the history of their previous existence.

“We live our lives made up of a great quantity of isolated instants, lost at the heart of a multitude of things.”

It is within this intersection between art, design, and material storytelling that the work of Middernacht & Alexander takes shape. Since beginning their collaboration in 2016, the Belgian–Dutch duo, Sofie Middernacht and Maarten Alexander, have developed a practice that moves fluidly across photography, spatial installation, sculpture, and collectible design. At the core of their work lies a fascination with perception and with the subtle psychological dynamics that shape our everyday experience of the world.

Their work also frequently examines the intricate balance between intimacy and observation. The viewer is not just a passive onlooker; rather, they become an integral part of the art itself. Many of their installations demand that the viewer be in a specific position or engage the space in some way. This creates an interesting situation wherein the act of observation itself becomes an integral part of the art. Thus, the art comes alive as an interplay between the viewer, the space, and the object itself. 

The role of material is also quite significant in their work. Middernacht & Alexander have an affinity for materials that contain within them the capacity for change. Thus, they use materials that tend to oxidize or deteriorate if left to their own devices. Instead of trying to fight these changes, the artists embrace them and incorporate them into the art itself. Thus, the art becomes an intricate balance of preservation and deterioration, of stability and instability, as an expression of the impermanence of human existence.

A particularly striking example of this approach can be seen in their ongoing series How I Got Over. The work begins as decommissioned underground diesel fuel tanks that were previously used to warm homes in Belgium. These large industrial containers were likely buried beneath homes for decades. They emerge from the earth scarred and marked by their previous use. Instead of cleaning them of these marks of their past use, the artists leave them intact beneath their translucent coats of epoxy and pigment. The metal fragments are then transformed into sculptural furniture pieces: tables, surfaces, and objects that exist simultaneously as functional design and as sculptural relics.

Each piece has maintained its individuality from its origin. Due to the fact that pigments and other mixtures of materials are never standardized, each piece is unique by nature, bearing its unique variations. What was once underground as part of a household infrastructure is now brought to life as a visible entity that sparks contemplation upon the various histories that are embedded within it.

By means of this process, Middernacht & Alexander has created what could be termed as a material narrative from discarded industrial materials. They are not simply recycling a product; they are conserving its history.

This archaeological approach is even more evident in works such as Terra Atlas, where the artists work directly with the found materials and objects. The excavated surfaces, textures, and signs of wear are all meticulously preserved, and the works take on a deliberately antiquated appearance, as if they are artifacts from some unknown past. And yet, they are unmistakably from the present day, so that a curious temporal ambiguity is created, as they are both ancient and modern, familiar and alien.

Middernacht & Alexander approach design as a form of excavation, revealing the hidden layers within ordinary materials and the infrastructures that shape our daily lives. Their work reminds us that every material carries a history waiting to be rediscovered.

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Words: Simone Lorusso