'Flowniversum'at Design Miami 2022
I am delighted to share that I have been selected as one of the global designers and architects selected for the Design Miami/ Basel 2022 Curio Program in Basel to be held in June this year.
The curatorial theme for this year’s Design Miami exhibition is ‘The Golden Age: Rooted in the Past’.
The Golden Age is a curated idea shared by various cultures across space and time. Whether projected into a Utopian future or an idealised past, the Golden Age foresees the world at absolute peace. A place where there are advancements in arts and technology penetrates society with unprecedented pleasure, beauty, ease, and cooperation. A time in which every individual and creature coexists in harmony.
In a time and era where resilience, ability, and flexibility to adapt continues to be challenged unprecedentedly, talent and power are tested more than ever to imagine a planet and society with a better and brighter future.
With a great deal of optimism, the exhibition looks forward to momentous regeneration that is aimed at creating sustainable solutions and much better human conditions. It strives to overcome the present promisingly to imagine a safer and brighter tomorrow, not just via commitments, but the driving force of dreams.
My project ‘Flowniversum’ aims at looking beyond the reality of ecological crisis to a more balanced, sustainable, and greener future, which has never been more challenging.
A combination of Flow and Universe, Flowniversum will display my vision of a bold circular economy, where waste products will be metamorphosed into amazingly beautiful designs that are functional, unique, and most importantly ecologically sustainable.
Given the reality that the enormous amounts of plastic in our ocean are all set to overshadow the number of fishes that live there in the next three decades, I have been working towards transforming and recycling tens of thousands of plastic bottles retrieved from the oceans into a unique and attractive collection of 3D printed furniture.
The centrepiece of my collection is the pioneering Flow Chair ( which imitates the organic flow of the human body.
The installation also includes a wave-like veil feature that flows around the exhibition space with a translucency that allows for the creation of different moods through indirect lighting. The veil can be recycled into architectural facades, representing an innovative alternative to existing building materials.
In addition, the installation incorporates a screen that displays a unique educational NFT collection. Showing an animated representation of a plastic-filled ocean metamorphosing into beautiful vases designed by me, these digital assets - located at the intersection of the real and the virtual worlds - are commercially valuable artworks that speak to, and amplify, the environmental theme of the installation. “Flowniversum” stands as an emblematic and inspirational example of how to transform plastic waste into design and manufacturing opportunities that powerfully connect with an increasingly eco-conscious audience.
I hope to see some of you in Basel in June. If you like to book a time to see our stand please get in touch with Caroline at design@mahmoudieh.com
