In 1958, in Chant du styrène, Alain Resnais praised the qualities of oil, the incarnation of a magic liquid allowing limitless production. At that time, the furniture industry seized on plastic derivatives such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), polyethylene and other thermoplastic resins, which were solid and light, and were attractive for their low cost and ease of treatment in colour. Despite being cheap, they required expensive moulds to be made and only became profitable at an industrial scale. This was the start of the production of multitudes of products, from furniture to kitchen utensils, and the car such as the famous Méhari. Finally, far from being wonderful, in a few decades plastic became the major pollutant of the planet.

Due to the exhibition “Dix ans / Design. 10 ans d’acquisitions du Cercle Design”, some works in this room may temporarily not be presented there. We apologize.

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