UNESCO Ghosts’ files

How do we establish the relevance of a knowledge area? Who decides its importance? Does something have to be true to be valuable and worth preserving?

Based on discoveries and UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage criteria, I have designed three fictional cultural practices – the harvesting of morning dew, inspired by elficology and alchemy; the tanning of the skins of reptilian humanoids, as narrated in a widespread conspiracy theory; and finally a monument dedicated to the Bigfoot’s growl, as studied by cryptozoologists.

"That's one small step for Bigfoot, one giant leap for rationalists" brings together creative bubbles that disturb the rationality of Science and History, producing stories that are as romantic as they are controversial. By using a cultural heritage organisation as a tool of power, and by merging authentic and constructed realities, it is possible to make use of design to challenge our beliefs and our value systems, and eventually to redefine the way we want to live in our societies. This work echoes an increasingly connected society, where the fake sometimes seems more real than the real “real”, and highlights a very human paradox: our obsession with truth and our eagerness to escape from it - a paradox as healthy as it is dangerous.

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UNESCO Ghosts’ files

- 2021

Exhibited at:

Dutch Design Week 2021 Beursgebouw, Eindhoven.

Published in:

Dezeen
“Pauline Rip designs cultural artefacts for Bigfoot, elves and reptilian humanoïdes” 07.01.2022
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Practice 1

Elficology - AlchemyThe inscription of the element on the Representative List raises awareness of the cultural dimension of these activities, including their social and environmental aspects. This has a direct and positive impact on the visibility of dew harvester communities and on the awareness of their richness in terms of living heritage practices, craftsmanship and creativity: an extremely rich medicinal, festive and cultural heritage that reflects the ecological attributes of the land and constitutes an important aspect of local cultural resources.