"Bloom" a video show curated by Formafantasma for Stockholm Design Week

On September 7th and 8th, during the coming Stockholm Design Week, two nights of screenings will take us through brilliant sustainable visions by leading designers and creative minds. The events will be at Italian Cultural Institute in Stockholm, an architectural jewel that will give the opportunity to appreciate original ´50s interiors which include very rare prototypes and unique pieces.

"BLOOM. I, You and It: Stories of entanglement between species" is the title of the video program curated by Formafantasma (Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin), created for the Milano Design Film Festival, which investigates the relationship between humans and nature. Both evenings will be introduced by Cristiana Perrella, artistic director of the Milano Design Film Festival. The event will be released in collaboration with ITA - Italian Trade Agency Sweden.

In “I, You and It: Stories of entanglement between species”, Formafantasma's highly ecological approach focuses on the study of primal materials, on how they are processed and distributed. Internationally known, winners of countless awards, the latest being the Wallpaper * Awards 2021 Designers of the Year, Formafantasma argue that the current one is an exceptional moment, because the climate crisis is pushing us to rethink the parameters for a future on the planet. “There are no alternatives to ecological thinking, which forces us to review many aspects of modernity. Conservatives see the climate crisis as a limitation, a frustration of the individual. On the opposite ecological thinking pushes us to think as a community, not only made up of humans, but also of post-humans and non-humans", they explain. "The films we have chosen for MDFF are all very different from each other, but we believe they can help us navigate the deep and uncharted waters of the time we live in".

Screening Program

September 7th, at 7 p.m. (book your place):

• "Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival", Fabrizio Terranova, Belgium 2016, 81'
• "Cambio", Studio Formafantasma, The Netherlands 2020, 23'21"
• "Quercus", Studio Formafantasma, The Netherlands 2020, 13'.

September 8th, at 7 p.m. (book your place):

• "Flores", Jorge Jacome, Portugal 2017, 26'40''
• "Becoming Animal", Emma Davie e Peter Mettler, Switzerland and United Kingdom 2018, 78'

Formafantasma

Andrea Trimarchi (1983) and Simone Farresin (1980) are Formafantasma, a duo of Italian designers recently based in Milan after many years in Amsterdam. Their interest in product design developed during their master's in IM at Design Academy Eindhoven, where they graduated in July 2009. Since then, Formafantasma's practice has been characterized by investigations of experimental materials and detailed explorations of the history, context and implications of transforming natural resources into commodities. In perceiving their role as a bridge between craft, industry, object and user, they are interested in creating links between their research-based practice and a wider design industry. As a result, Formafantasma's works have been commissioned by a variety of partners including Fendi, Max Mara - Sportmax, Hermès, Droog, Nudus rug, J&L Lobmeyr, Gallery Libby Sellers, Established and Sons, Lexus, Krizia International and Flos., Gallery Giustini / Stagetti Rome.

Their work has been presented and published internationally and in museums such as the MoMA in New York, the Victoria and Albert in London, the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris, Tilburg, Stedelijk's-Hertogenbosch, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centro Pecci in Prato, the Mudac Lausanne, the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in North Carolina and the MAK Museum in Vienna.

Cristiana Perrella

Artistic Director of the Milan Design Film Festival, Cristiana Perrella is curator and art critic. She directed the Centro per l’arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato from 2018 to 2021 and, previously, the Contemporary Arts Program of the British School at Rome (1998-2008). As an independent curator, she has collaborated with Italian and international institutions, including MAXXI, Rome, IKSV, Istanbul, Fondazione Prada, Milan.