‘Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter’
‘Tactile Dialogues’ returns for Melbourne Design Week 2026 with ‘Fragments of Matter’, an immersive exhibition that places material experimentation, craft and sensory experience at the centre of contemporary design practice.
Presented by Made By Morgen and curated by interior designer Ryan Fernandes, ‘Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter’ brings together a group of contemporary Australian designers and makers working across ceramics, glass, timber, lighting, sculpture and emerging material systems.
The exhibition frames fragmentation as a site of possibility: a way of revealing the hand of the maker and the ever-evolving relationship between creator and material.
Building on the warm reception of the inaugural edition in 2025, this year’s exhibition explores the idea of the fragment as both material and concept, inviting audiences to slow down and engage more closely with process, texture and the traces of making. The exhibition frames fragmentation as a site of possibility: a way of revealing the hand of the maker and the ever-evolving relationship between creator and material.
“Much of what we encounter in design today is presented as a polished image,” says Fernandes. “Through ‘Tactile Dialogues’, we wanted to create a platform that reveals the process, experimentation and alchemy that happens when a maker works directly with matter.”
Each of the contributing designers has a practice based in hands-on material research and experimentation. Across the exhibition, visitors encounter timber forms, ceramic pieces that feel excavated, molten glass frozen into fluid forms and sculptural objects that invite touch and reflection. The exhibition explores how materials can be active contributors to a practice, and what can emerge through play, variation and experimentation.
“As makers, we spend most of our time working directly with materials: understanding their weight, their limitations and the way they respond to tools and time. Materiality is where design really begins,” says Nick McDonald, founder of Made By Morgen.
The exhibition explores how materials can be active contributors to a practice, and what can emerge through play, variation and experimentation.
Among the participating designers is artist and material researcher Jessie French, whose studio, Other Matter, presents its first furniture pieces produced using a patented non-petrochemical material system originally developed for architectural surfaces. Created in collaboration with Made By Morgen, the pieces incorporate a dense leather-like material formed through a closed-loop recycling process using returned signage and studio waste. The system recently received Dezeen’s 2025 Surface Design of the Year award and points toward new possibilities for circular furniture production.
Melbourne ceramic artist Sarah Nedovic contributes ceramic forms that appear half-formed and in transition, shaped through instinctive and low-tech processes developed following her residency at Domaine de Boisbuchet. Designer Jordan Fleming presents new sculptural lighting and object pieces, while Ned Vernon of V.BROKKR brings architectural candleholders informed by silversmithing traditions, brutalism and ritualistic symbolism.
Fourth-generation furniture maker Jon Goulder exhibits a chair that combines moulded leather and refined woodworking techniques, allowing the material to develop patina and character over time. Multidisciplinary artist Ryan L. Foote contributes sculptural tableware and objects exploring the physical and ephemeral qualities of dining and interaction, while glass artist Billy Crellin of Studio Dokola presents sculptural vessels investigating the fluid movement of molten glass. Emma Davies rounds out the exhibition with works created from recycled plastics and unconventional materials, transforming industrial remnants into rich forms.
The exhibition extends beyond objects through a multi-sensory public program. On opening night, Thursday May 14, guests will attend an invitation-only dining experience created in collaboration with Melbourne restaurant Manzé. This three-course meal with wine pairing draws on Mauritian cuisine, where fragments of flavour, scent and texture speak to the works on display.
On Saturday May 16, design journalist Aleesha Callahan will host The Alchemy of Making, a panel discussion featuring Calum Hurley from Other Matter, Nick McDonald of Made By Morgen, Nicole Durling, CEO of CRAFT, and curator Ryan Fernandes. The conversation will dive into collaboration, circular and collectible design, and the evolving role of emerging materials. Exploring what gets lost when we only see the finished object and what we stand to gain by taking a closer look, it ties beautifully into what promises to be another thoughtful, engaging and insightful exhibition of contemporary Australian design.
‘Tactile Dialogues: Fragments of Matter’ runs from May 15-17 at Made By Morgen, 57 Weston Street, Brunswick, Victoria.
