Within a funky, colonial-meets-Memphis Mexico City studio of her own making, the Guadalajaran-born creative Sofia Elias takes an amorphous approach to the disciplines of art, architecture, and design. Her work is a colorful and playful universe informed by the rich creative context of her native Mexico, as well as the histories of art and architecture she studied while pursuing formal fine arts training at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and a bachelor of architecture from Anáhuac University in CDMX.
During her undergraduate studies, Elias took a particular shine to children’s play spaces. Her thesis project, Jugando a Jugar, which translates to “Playing to Play,” was a sculptural park exploring the notion of play through unconventional materials, textures, and colors that resulted in a series of organic, fluid models. In 2019, she extended this quirky experimentation to a wearable scale with the launch of Blobb, an ephemeral jewelry brand that has since found its way onto the hands and wrists of celebrities like Dua Lipa and Doja Cat.
This approach has also resulted in a series of perception-challenging sculptures, like the Pofi Chairs that collapse when you sit in them or the ostensibly melted Gooey Bags with unruly straps that twist and turn in every direction. She has also continued working at an architectural scale, with four real-life interpretations of Jugando a Jugar appearing in Mexico and, most recently, New York City.
In May, the New York hospitality fixture The Standard, High Line debuted La Plaz, an outdoor dining and gathering space that “celebrates the sights, sounds, and flavors of Mexico City.” Here, Elias’s first U.S. playscape “encourages the beauty of unplanned action, reaction, and interaction.” Whitewall checked in with Elias to learn more about how the young designer has carved her way into the local and international creative scene.
Portrait courtesy of artist Sofia Elias.
WHITEWALL: Play appears to be a central theme in your work. What does this concept mean to you, and how does it manifest in your design process?
SOFIA ELIAS: After so much research on the subject of play during the design of my thesis project, Jugando a Jugar, I came to the conclusion that we are the purest version of ourselves when we are children.
In our youth, we never limit ourselves to rules—what is permitted and what is not, what we can say and what we can’t, how to act and how to not—until an adult tells us so. We act and do without filters. It’s beautiful. I try to awaken the inner child with all of the ludic interactive pieces I create, complementing them with all my research in design, architecture, and the many great artists I consider to be my biggest inspirations.
“I try to awaken the inner child with all of the ludic interactive pieces I create,”
Sofia Elias
My designs require active participation in order to “work.” When users interact with the objects, they create their own interpretations of play. In these moments, unexpected experiences and connections occur. Watching an adult “fall” while sitting in one of my collapsible Pofi Chairs is one of my favorite things. It breaks the common preconception of adulthood that we must always have things under control. When they sit on these chairs, they have to surrender this control, and this always makes them laugh. Even if they already know they’re going to fall, this experience of uncertainty is still a surprise, and this surprise is what I’m searching for in the objects that I design.
Sofia Elias first solo show at LABOR, 2022. Installation of Pofi Chairs and a series of architectural cake drawings. Courtesy of the artist.
A Life-Changing Home and Studio in Mexico City
WHITEWALL: You live and work within a historic space that you renovated yourself. How did this come to be? How does this immersive lifestyle fuel your work?
SE: It’s funny because I feel like this place found me more than I found it.
Flora has been my favorite street ever since I moved to Mexico City. I’ve always been determined to find a place on this street, so from time to time I would go around knocking on houses to see if anything was available for rent. The answer would be no, or simply no response.
Then, a little over two years ago, one of my tíos (in Mexico, we refer to close family friends as aunt or uncle) asked me to work with him on the remodeling of a house. When he showed me where it was, I couldn’t believe it! The house was on the street I had been dreaming of . . . Although it’s located in the midst of Mexico City’s busy Roma Norte neighborhood, Flora is a quiet, one-way street that has maintained the height of its historic townhouses, which allows for beautiful light to pass through the trees and create a sense of tranquility.
Using my background in architecture, I carried out the remodeling of the whole building, integrating modern amenities without compromising its historic charm. I’ve been living here for a little over a year, but working in this space for more than two. Once the remodeling was finished, I decided this house would not only be my studio, but also my home. And this decision changed my life; I’ve felt so much more productive and can be more focused on my work. It feels like I have an extra five hours in the day.
Sofia Elias’s BLOBB miniature sculptures for the body; courtesy of the artist.
A Deeply Inspired, Research-Based Artistic Process
WW: Your designs are marked by a distinctive and inventive materiality. Can you speak to this facet of your work and process?
SE: I am deeply inspired by my research and curiosity about material; I am constantly exploring and questioning, “How will new materials interact?” “How can this matter be manipulated?” “How can it be reinterpreted?”
We usually “deform” the materials we work with to create something new—that is, telling the material what we want it to do or how we want it to function. I try to find a way to understand the properties of each material so that the material itself gives the answer for the new shape or product, not me.
For me, research is the most fun, and essential, part of this process. After a trial period of experimentation—during which the material might break, dry, or even get sticky—I try to understand how it reacts. This phase is crucial as it allows me to push the boundaries of what the material can achieve. I study its properties, test its limits, and document my findings. It is then that I see what the product, object, or sculpture can be.
Each new material brings a set of challenges and opportunities, and it’s through this hands-on approach that we discover the best applications. Whether the material ends up being part of a functional item or a drawing that is purely artistic, what we get from this exploration feeds back into our ongoing research and inspires future projects.
This process undoubtedly makes production more difficult, but I think that’s what keeps things exciting.
“For me, research is the most fun, and essential, part of this process,”
Sofia Elias
Portrait courtesy of artist Sofia Elias.
Fusing Imagination and Function for a Happier World
WW: You’ve managed to achieve significant milestones across the diverse arms of your practice—Blobb has gone viral, you’ve been a participant in and subject of multiple exhibitions, and your architectural playscapes have landed stateside—all before the age of 30. What comes next?
SE: I’m so happy that the architectural side of my career has been growing, and people have been recognizing this work. The playgrounds bring me a lot of joy—seeing people interact with the pieces, whether it’s a child climbing or an adult exploring, validates the hours spent in conceptualization and design; it’s a tangible confirmation that my ideas resonate with others and bring them happiness.
I’m super excited to continue down this path and see how this family of creatures, sculptures, scribbles, doodles, and drawings will evolve. The journey of their transformation from concept to reality has been beyond what I could even imagine or that words could ever express. What fills me up the most is seeing people using the pieces—from the swings to the rings, each piece serves a purpose and tells a story, bringing together imagination, appropriation, consciousness, and a little bit of function.
