In 2013 in conjunction win a major retrospective on Gerrit Rietveld at the Vitra Design Museum,

five design studios working in The Netherlands have been called to join a Swiss partner of the region

and develop a design proposal. 

In collaboration with a Swiss charcoal burner, Studio Formafantasma, design duo based in Amsterdam,

drew inspiration from the tension between the dystopian connotation of charcoal, causing pollution and destruction, and its beneficent use in healthcare and water. 

Alongside with the series of jars and charcoal filters the designers produced, I have been asked to develop

a collection of drawings: twelve hand-made charcoal drawings portraying trees burning, the knotty texture

of a burnt tree trunk, polluted cities, fumes and black rain, were on display at the exhibition to highlight the misuse of charcoal through the ages.

These drawings are part of Charcoal by Formafantasma, exhibited in different museums, galleries, exhibitions.

Instead of ink each drawing was realized using charcoal from burnt wooden logs.

Used both pure and grinded down in a powder and mixed with chemicals, benzine and ammonia,

charcoal is both the medium and the topic of the series illustrations.

Collection of 12 drawings,
Charcoal on paper,
H25 x W32 cm


www.formafantasma.com
www.design-museum.de