By Jeanne Tan / 28-04-2011

Visitors who wandered down into the subterranean exhibition spaces of Spazio Rossana Orlandi – finally tearing themselves away from the gallery’s charming leafy, courtyard and café - were rewarded with one of the most captivating highlights of this year’s Milan furniture fair: Studio Formafantasma’s Botanica series. In another part of town, the duo’s new collection of embroidered rugs depicting oversized birds entitled Migration impressed audiences in Brera at Nodus’ showroom and Li Edelkoort’s Talking Textiles exhibition.

Botanica comprises a series of vessels, coffee tables and lamp made from natural vegetal- and animal-derived polymeric materials. Natural resins and gums including rosin, dammar, copal (pre-amber) and rubber extracted from trees and shellac (extracted from insect excrement) and durci (saw dust combined with animal blood) – many of which are ancient, forgotten materials – are reinterpreted in a striking new way by the Italian-born Netherlands-based duo (Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi).  

The project was commissioned by Plart, an Italian foundation dedicated to the research and conservation of works of art and design made from plastic. The duo’s aim was to show an entirely different perspective on plastic materials: in order to do this, the designers had to conquer their own prejudices and preconceptions about plastics. “Despite its centuries-old history, plastics are still perceived as materials belonging to modernity,” explains Simone Farresin. “The objects in the Botanica collection are designed as if the oil-based era, in which we live, never took place. With Botanica we investigated the pre-Bakelite period, discovering unexpected textures, feelings and technical possibilities offered by natural polymers extracted from plants or animal-derivatives.”

The natural plastics are first heated to create a molten liquid and then poured to form sheets. While warm, the plastic ‘pastry’ can be moulded into the form as required, and cut with scissors. Quick hands are required to work with this material, as when dry, it becomes brittle. Leftover plastic can simply be re-melted to be reused.

For the objects, the plastic elements become feature details, married with natural materials like ceramic, timber and leather. The pieces evoke an archaic but simultaneously futuristic aesthetic. “It is a project with a utopian aspect that visually flirts with traditional forms and organic inspirations,” adds Andrea Trimarchi. “With Botanica we wanted to leave people with a sense of wonder, to trigger the imagination of the user in order to stimulate questions and look into the past to give an insight on possible futures.”

Main image and images 1-5: Botanica, photography: Luisa Zanzani
Image 6-9: Migration

Click on the images to enlarge

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