For more information please write to dd@deaddarlings.nl and
follow us on Instagram and FaceBook for updates!

Dear Artists, Collectors and Friends,

Dead Darlings are excited to announce our upcoming auction, taking place Sunday February 10th in collaboration with HNI, within the framework of the Speculative Design Archive exhibition. We will display and present all lots that will be included in our auction Thursday February 7th — Sunday February 10th. The Dead Darlings Collective will be in attendance and our auction catalogue will already be made available.

Our focus is on artefacts whose value is ambiguous. Dead Darlings: works created, yet not brought to light. Something beloved, yet cast aside, not quite discarded.

We challenge makers to re-evaluate aspects of their creative process, and ask potential buyers to jettison their pre-conceptions of a work’s value. To further our goal of subverting this commercial ritual, we auction each piece anonymously. Contributors, both well-known and emerging in their field, are listed alphabetically and are only revealed in connection to their works after the sale. By doing this, we remove context that might otherwise drive value in a conventional auction in favour of placing more attention on the direct relationship between the work and its potential buyer.

To further emphasize that the work has been liberated from potential market value by the makers, a symbolic starting price of €1 levels the playing field allowing everyone to participate in gradually reassessing desirability in a fun and inclusive atmosphere!

The works can be anything, from a finished product to a sketch, an imperfect sample or a failed prototype. A piece held onto for inspiration or as an interesting by-product of the final result. The emotional choices involved in making and archiving will be highlighted and value can be explored from a different vantage point.

We see this as a chance to highlight hidden and interesting aspects of an oeuvre, and also “re-homing” a beloved misfit, giving it a fresh start. Along with this “offering” each contributor is asked to answer one simple question: What makes this a Dead Darling?

You can find their answers to that question along with the list of available auction units in our handmade catalogue, and by participating in our auction you could become the new custodian of one of those unique and wonderful pieces.

Join us, and together let’s breathe new life into these Dead Darlings!

For more information please write to dd@deaddarlings.nl and
follow us on Instagram and FaceBook for updates!