Arts and Crafts Movement 2.0 Manifesto

This installation materializes the manifesto for Arts and Crafts Movement 2.0 that reimagines the 19th-century British movement for the era of digital technology and computational design, advocating for mindful art production and consumption, inviting the audience to consider what defines art and who can be defined as an artist today.

Project Video

Abstract

This installation presents the materialization of the manifesto of Arts & Crafts Movement 2.0 — the advocate’s reinterpretation of the 19th-century British Arts & Crafts movement, reimagined in the era of digital technology and computational design. The movement is guided by 4 foundational principles:
1. Mindful collaboration between artists and "labour-saving machines”.
2. Instate joy in labor by further reducing labour fragmentation.
3. Respect both traditional and new materials that minimize harm to nature and humans.
4. Democratize both the consumption and production of art.

The installation represents an iterative progress toward an ideal synthesis of these four principles. Hand-carved wooden boards from Fujian craftsmen, laser-cut printing plates, and prints on tracing paper recreate symbolic wallpaper patterns from the original Movement, establishing the conceptual starting point.
Principle 1 manifests through human-assembled wooden pieces created from algorithm-generated laser-cut blueprints, highlighting the machine's role as collaborator rather than mere tool—avoiding the danger of deskilling artists. The precisely 3D-printed pieces contrast with the wooden components, suggesting that truly “labour-saving machines” are yet to come.
Principle 2 is represented through the comparison between wooden clips made and assembled by workers with purposeful intent versus those created through mechanical repetition where workers remain unaware of the full design.
Principle 3 emerges through experimental sawdust 3D printing, transforming waste materials from conventional woodworking processes into meaningful forms.
Principle 4 is practiced by offering the power of art production to the audience, distributing the laborious work that would traditionally be the uncredited labor of the artist's assistants.
Through this project, I invite you to consider the potential and challenges of art-making in our world today. How can the dynamic between artists and their collaborators change for the better? What defines art, and who can be considered an artist?
 

Photos