Ismail Hassouna

The blade as a cultural artifact is a double edge sword in the metaphorical
sense that it can be viewed as a vessel for violence and destruction but at the same
time is a vessel for nurturing and nourishment. Placing these objects in the context of
a kitchen is where my distinction arises. I as a maker feel like the view of a knife has
been dominated by the violent perception, but in the context, I place my work I want
to highlight the nurturing side of knives.
Using four different points of view Violent, Criminal, Design and Abstraction.
Violent perception cannot be separated from the knife; this is why I choose to em-
brace that aesthetic. Making them unfunctional as a weapon.
The knives I created is embracing the violent perception by combining the
knuckleduster and a cleaver to make an aesthetical language of violence.
The butterfly knife is an archetypal criminal knife that carries significant cul-
tural weight. Taking this design that has been coined by media to depict criminals and
combining it with the least threatening blades that we all use regularly.
Design is a key part of any product and is based in form and function, these
knives are a representation of familiar forms in the kitchen with my own twist. The
goal is to make very functional objects that are simply functional and utilitarian de-
sign.
Abstraction is my way to put traditional form of the knife in the context of
contemporary art, making soft shapes of what is usually very defined forms. Keeping
the elements I enjoy about knifemaking but trying to demystify the part that is most
perceived as violent and destructive.