Erik Torstensson: Source Material, Vol. I - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A visual archive-cum-philosophical inquiry into design, showcasing iterations of speculative objects developed with AI

Published with SOURCE ÉDITIONS.

Erik Torstensson's Source Material, Vol. I explores design during a moment of profound technological transformation, positioning artificial intelligence as a creative collaborator. Drawing on more than two decades of observation across art, architecture, fashion and material culture, Erik Torstensson generates accelerated conceptual iterations while foregrounding human taste, judgment and intent. The book presents a rigorously edited body of speculative objects including chairs, tables, vessels and abstract forms, developed through tens of thousands of iterations and refined through curatorial discipline. Rather than prioritizing utility, these works probe the porous boundary between design and art, asking when an object functions, when it provokes and when it achieves both. At once a visual archive and a philosophical inquiry, the book challenges conventional notions of originality, craft and process. It ultimately proposes a new framework for how design might be conceived, authored and produced in the years ahead.