'chocolate mill' by studio wieki somers
all images courtesy of studio wieki somers
dutch designers at studio wieki somers have combined forces with chocolatier rafael mutter to create ‘chocolate mill’.
shown as part of the confrontations exhibition at the vitra design museum, the project celebrates a global weakness, the sweet tooth. delicate rosettes are shaved off a cylindrical block of the cocoa-based confection, which is made up of a mixture of flavors, using a crank-turned blade. from this, a topography of various patterns integrated within the candy slowly emerge, creating a flip-book effect as the layers are scraped off.

a video demonstrating the chocolate mill
video courtesy of studio wieki somers
the instrument was designed by adapting a machine used mainly in switzerland as a cheese slicer and references the stories and history surrounding the candy. one example of this is the geometric motifs from rafael mutter’s bonbons. by turning the mill the audience become witness to a kaleidoscopic effect in which an african bobo masks emerge, which cocoa-bean pickers believe have a special power to bring a good harvest.
other participating artists have been covered by designboom for this diverse showcase dedicated to a number of innovative dutch designers whose experimental methods are similar to that of designer gerrit rietveld. this includes work by formafantasma with their charcoal concept and lucas maassen with his synthetic DNA chandelier.

rosettes are shaved off the block to slowly reveal different patterns

the sweet is shaved with a crank-turned blade

detailed patterns emerge from various chocolates embedded within the block

towards the end of the block