“Rivers don’t drink their very own water; bushes don’t eat their very own fruit; the solar doesn’t shine on itself and flowers don’t unfold their perfume for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature.” – Pope Francis (2020)
Amid years of analysis, documentation, and innovation to know how circularity truly works, the journey supplies take to grow to be useful objects, people, as their creators, usually overlook to replicate upon their genesis – how the first device got here from nature, as did our meals, our garments, our shelters. For mankind, aiming to beat the now and past of the universe we inhabit, our ends appear to converge at our beginnings, in nature. The outbreak of a pandemic introduced the world to a standstill for 2 years, the place we noticed how nature reclaimed its place in the absence of people. This is how nature reveals us hope and resilience.
In a bid to reconnect and respect the pure world, on which we rely a lot for each day survival, an exhibition on present at the Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli in the Brera Design District throughout Milan Design Week 2022 referred to as Again, From the Earth’s Foundation, addressed the potential of the design trade to create sustainably, responsibly and mindfully. With its modest, easy and complex lineup of product designs and artworks, the design exhibition tackled the theme of respect and empathy for nature, bringing consideration to the worth of craftsmanship and the use of uncooked supplies that originate from nature itself, in these occasions the place we face a pandemic, local weather change and ethical disaster.

Following the theme for the historic Brera district, ‘Designing the Present, Choosing the Future’, the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KDCF) based mostly in Seoul, South Korea, organised the 2022 version of the Korean Craft Exhibition, underscored by the naturalism of Korean aesthetics and crafting methods. This adopted the idea of Sobak(素朴), “a pure or uncooked state with none human contact” or “unique state” hailing from the phrases So (素), “A pure white state when silkworm’s threads are but to be dyed”, and Bak(朴), “Raw hardwood that must be sanded”. Sobak, due to this fact, interprets roughly to religious crafts entrenched in ‘naturalism’, untouched by people, synonymous with a pure state of being that tries to return to what it was whereas appreciating the very basis of the earth and of sacral nature.




Elaborating on the exhibition’s intent, the president of the Korea Craft & Design Foundation, Taehoon Kim, said, “The theme… centres round values of crafts created from the mom Earth’s by-products in addition to aesthetics of respecting nature amidst the urgent local weather disaster and extended pandemic. (It) will probably be an incredible event the place you’ll be able to expertise and perceive the naturalism of Korean aesthetics… As we rejoice the 10th anniversary of the Korean Craft Exhibition at Milan Design Week, collaborative works between three Italian designers and three Korean craftsmen will probably be displayed for the first time. This represents one more evolution of craft going past the convergence of two cultures. Moreover, the exhibition showcases round 100 items of wonderful craft work with components resembling metallic, textile, wooden, glass, hanji (conventional Korean paper made out of the bark of the mulberry tree) which all characterize the essence of Korean craft.”




Opening its doorways for the cultural union celebrating the pursuit of magnificence from the earth, Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, for the first time, turned the venue for a significant exhibition at Milan Design Week, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Republic of Korea. Under the creative path of Shinjae Kang and curation of Kyuhyun Lee, Again, From the Earth’s Foundation witnessed three collaborations between famend Italian designers Michele De Lucchi, Mario Trimarchi, and Francesco Faccin with three Korean grasp craftsmen Gangyong Park, Hyungkun Lee, and SungjaHur, respectively. The coalescence of the totally different cultures caused items that interpreted Korean aesthetics in design and craftsmanship with the skilful use of pure uncooked supplies.




“We usually use a phrase like ‘natural-looking’ when seeing one thing that appears simply advantageous with none depletion or excessiveness. The phrase ‘natural-looking’ means one thing that appears near ‘nature’, and Mother Nature accepts our humble angle which could be characterised as right-mindedness (中正) in addition to moderation (中庸). While it may be a bit late to return to the earth’s basis– a state of Sobak(素朴), the most pure and intact state, (is aspirational) – we should always nonetheless take heed to the manner of nature with humility whereas releasing ourselves from the indulgence of materials wishes. The craftsmen’s components come from Mother Earth and nature. Characteristics of such components, our arms and senses, collectively create lovely beings which can be given sufficient time and perseverance… Mother Earth is a cradle of people in addition to the remaining resting place. This exhibition is a small try to showcase pure crafts appreciating the basis of the earth in addition to easy but candid magnificence of nature, with a contact of Korean aesthetics,” said the Artistic Director of the exhibition, Shinjae Kang.






STIR takes you on a Milanese sojourn! Experience Salone del Mobile and all the design districts – 5vie, Brera, Fuorisalone, Isola, Zona Tortona, and Durini – with us. STIR’s protection of Milan Design Week 2022, Meanwhile in Milan showcases the finest reveals, moods, studios, occasions, and people to look out for. We are additionally excited to announce our very personal STIR press sales space at Salone del Mobile – Hall 5/7 S.14, Fiera Milano RHO.
(Text by Sunena V Maju, intern at STIRworld)