How can society be effectively resensitised to the plight of food animals?

Studio Rems is a research-driven design practice exploring the emotional and ethical disconnection between humans and food animals.

The current project centres on the pig. Every year, more than 1.3 billion pigs are killed globally, most often before reaching one year of age. Through industrial design and cultural narratives, these animals have been transformed into “material,” systematically removed from both public view and moral consideration.

Studio Rems exists to provoke reflection, not guilt. It aims to reopen an emotional dialogue with the animals we’ve learned not to see. In order to change the way we treat animals, we must first change the way we look at them.

The practice operates at the intersection of design, ethics, and storytelling. Each project begins with research into cultural narratives and material histories, translating questions about empathy and value into tactile forms. Clay plays a central role in this process, both as an ancient, bodily material and as a metaphor for transformation and interconnection. Through it, Studio Rems seeks to make visible what has been hidden and to restore sensitivity through touch, texture, and form.

Romina graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven (BA, 2023), where she first began exploring clay as a material. She works with slip-casting, wheel-throwing, and hand-building techniques.

(Leerdam Glasmuseum)

To see more projects click on: https://romina-rems-design.webflow.io/portfolio