Gallery FUMI is pleased to present Rubber Rocks, a solo exhibition by London-based designers Bernadette Deddens and Tetsuo Mukai of the duo Study O Portable, opening on 15 May, 2025. For their first solo exhibition with the gallery the designers will unveil an entirely new body of work, composed of objects made in rubber eraser in the form of granite architectural elements in decay. These works explore the tension between permanence and impermanence; transformation and erosion.
Granite, one of the hardest materials on the planet, is imbued with a sense of permanence and stability causing it to seemingly exist forever. At the opposite end of the spectrum are rubber erasers - commonplace, ephemeral, and designed to disappear through use. One is focused on longevity and the other is focused on revision and refinement. Rubber Rocks exists between these extremes, exploring the interplay between the slow geological formation of stone and the fleeting, consumable nature of rubber erasers.
The series is made from cast and hand-sculpted structures composed of silicone rubber, marble dust, and pigment. They include pieces such as stools and armchairs alongside coffee tables, consoles, and planters.
A defining aspect of Study O Portable’s practice is their rich conceptual foundation. Rubber Rocks brings together fragments of ideas from across centuries - from ancient temples and architectural ruins to grand monuments and the humble studio eraser - quietly investigating how we build, erase, rebuild, and imagine.
Infused with wit and playfulness, the exhibition centres on the rubber eraser: a small, unassuming object found on every architect’s desk connecting the artist, draughtsperson, and designer. In Rubber Rocks, this everyday tool is reimagined on an entirely new scale.
