Tuomas Markunpoika: Is It Nature?
The Finnish designer is showcasing the Contra Naturam furniture series, his first solo presentation in London’s Gallery FUMI
Walk into Mayfair’s Gallery FUMI this summer and you might find yourself thinking you shouldn’t be there: there’s just something delightfully icky and weirdly private about the amorphous, curved and vascular pieces on display.
That would be the work of Tuomas Markunpoika, whose Contra Naturam furniture series is his first solo outing for the London space.
One of the items, a bench, resembles a large-scale tongue… which actually hides layers of meaning and materials under the outer “tissue.” To the touch, though, it reveals a less-than-moist surface: it’s actually finished with Moroccan Tadelakt, a natural plaster technique originally used in the African country to waterproof hammams and bathrooms. Beneath the plaster and the beeswax polish, Markunpoika placed a rather unexpected base of hand-sculpted polystyrene.
“Regardless of the natural and tactile surface of the objects, the collection is man-made, not only in the unambiguous meaning, but also to reveal how our perception of what we regard as ‘natural’ in design is often Anthropocenic, and how seemingly natural objects are manufactured artificially,” explained the Finnish designer. “The layer of ancient Moroccan Tadelakt surface hides inside a strata of industrial materials, which make up the structure and triggering a dialectic of the opposites: artificial versus natural.”
Contra Naturam is on display until September 8
Articles you also might like
The 19th edition of Helsinki Design Week takes place between September 6-15, 2024, with events, exhibitions and openings happening city-wide.
TLmag spoke with Humberto Campana ahead of his exhibition, “On the Road,” which opened at Friedman Benda on March 7th. This exhibition marks the first of a series of exhibitions and inaugurations recognizing the 40th year anniversary of Estudio Campana.
Finnish textile artist Kustaa Saksi presents a decade of his hypnotic, intricate and beautiful jacquard weavings, along with two new special commissions, at the Design Museum, Helsinki through October 15, 2023.
EMMA, Espoo Museum of Modern Art, hosts a selection of glass, ceramics and contemporary art from the Kakkonen Collection in their newly opened 1000m2 exhibition space. This exhibition is part of an ongoing collaboration between the museum and collector.