SCI-CULTURA

Shadowy collection by Tord Boontje, using a hand-weaving technique employing the plastic threads traditionally used for making fish nets © yatzer.com

Oh la la! The thing about the M’Afrique exhibition by Moroso, an Italian avant-garde furniture-making company (hat tip Timbuktu Chronicles), is that it’s an innovative, contemporary body of work that shouts art. The ubiquitous safari-chic/colonial look is beautiful, yes, but a bit predictable and safe. And I’ve never been a huge fan of animal print cushions. The M’Afrique collection, by various designers has got me excited about furniture. Either I am getting old or this is something that’s fresh, new and breaking boundaries of what Afro-inspired furnishings can look like.

The African continent is extraordinarily rich in creativity, materials and ideas that are sources of inspiration and nourishment for us. When applied to design, they engender products which exude tradition and modernity, innovation and history, form and beauty. I think there is so much of Africa and in this event my intent was to showcase the creativity of a few of the great artists and personalities of contemporary African culture. Going beyond the stereotypes that present Africa as a tragic or, at best, exotic experience, we want to highlight some aspects of contemporary African culture, which is in effect comparable to global culture. Looking at Africa through the eyes of contemporary art, photography, architecture and design is perhaps the most appropriate way of approaching this vast, powerful continent, so creatively rich and diverse that today it is still one of western modernity’s greatest sources of inspiration.

-Patrizia Moroso

Do-lo-rez by Ron Arad, Moroso’s iconic design upholstered in African fabrics © yatzer.com

More images of the M’Afrique exhibition with complementary text here.