10.6.–28.8.2022
Formafantasma, an Italian design studio, has decided to focus on Finnish forestry. The exhibition examines the interconnections of paper pulp industry, the management of forests and tree plantations, as well as design practice. The studio’s practice is research-based, investigating the ecological, historical, political, and social forces shaping the discipline of design today.
Cambio is an ongoing investigation into the extraction, production and distribution of wood led by Formafantasma. The title Cambio derives from the medieval Latin cambium meaning ‘change’ or ‘exchange’. It also refers to the anatomy of a tree: the cambial layer is a membrane that runs around a tree trunk enabling the growth.
Originally commissioned by Serpentine Galleries in London, Cambio manifests itself in a form of a travelling exhibition – previously shown in the UK, Italy, and Switzerland. The edition presented at the Design Museum comprises installations that have been included in the earlier versions of the exhibition as well as new works that emphasize local features. Formafantasma has teamed up with the Finnish furniture company Artek and seeks to establish how the extraction and use of timber in Finland has evolved over time.
Cambio is also a website with a continuously growing archive of documents, videos, books, and articles on the topic conceived collaboratively with experts from the fields of science, conservation, engineering, policymaking, and philosophy.
Check out the materials from Cambio website
Watch Formafantasma’s Andrea Trimarchi’s tour of the exhibition
Photo from the video Metsä, 2022, shown in Cambio – on Finnish Forestry exhibition by Formafantasma. Photographer Jussi Hellsten.
