Veleni
A contemporary vanitas shedding awareness on the impact humankind has had on Earth
VELENI is a collection of 12 glass sculptures, crafted by the expert hands of Murano’s glass blowers, a contemporary vanitas shedding awareness on the impact humankind has had on Earth. VELENI is a new project by Particle, the multidisciplinary team that promotes culture, art, design and creativity through real and virtual experiences, conceived by Lanzavecchia + Wai with curatorial text by Maria Cristina Didero and has been presented in Basel, from 13 to 19 June 2022, at Curio Design Miami.
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A series of objects whose beauty can confound, the collection’s interior is enriched by aesthetically pleasing yet extremely dangerous pollutants.
Revealed by the transparency of glass whilst isolated by airtight chambers, the appeal of the colors clashes with what they actually represent, making us wonder: how and why is our waste so close to what we consume?
Ordinary objects such as a glass, a centerpiece, a vase, an hourglass, a fishbowl become works of art, small manifestos, prompters of conscience, carrying, inside each form, capsules of ‘everyday poisons’ such as microplastics, microfibres, pills, detergents, tires and lead balls.You see them from afar and think ‘how beautiful are these transparent and colourful glasses’, you see them up close and recognise the encapsulated materials as ‘not good’ and hazardous.
The pollutants, isolated in the glass, react to the movements of the objects and their colours are attractive: they create a playful yet deceptive interaction with the audience as soon as it becomes clear that those coloured substances are toxic.
