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Design Blog Design Blog » Campana Brothers » Slideshow: Making Trans… chair

Slideshow: Making Trans… chair

Fernando and Humberto explain their TransPlastic series as a fictional story wherein, in a world made of plastic, synthetic matter eventually becomes fertile ground for transgenic creations in which nature grows from and eventually overpowers plastic.

The Trans… chair, the final piece in the Campanas’ TransPlastic collection, was designed especially for Cooper-Hewitt and is featured in Campana Brothers Select. The Trans… chair is entirely woven in wicker, marking the end of the battle when nature has virtually completed its domination of plastic. Reinforcing this confrontation, the chair expels iconic plastic elements from its wicker structure. The woven wicker element of the chair serves a dual purpose by uniting with the underlying theme of woven materials in the Campanas’ exhibition.

"The chair was designed as if it was eliminating the plastic, the parasite, showing nature’s rebellion."
—Humberto Campana

Campana Brothers Select: Works from the Permanent Collection is on view February 15–September 28, 2008.

About the Author: Based in São Paulo, Brazil and founded by the brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana, Estúdio Campana is an international design studio devoted to exploring new possibilities in furniture design.

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Comments

  1. I enjoyed the slideshow! Interesting to see the construction of the chair – can’t wait to see the finished piece.

    Bill | Feb 12, 12:25 PM

  2. The Campanas are ever the agent provacateurs — disrupting our notions of what we value.

    Cynthia Smith | Feb 13, 01:11 PM

  3. Now that I’ve seen the chair in person, it’s amazing what a visceral response it creates. I wanted to rip that plastic handle right off of the chair!

    Mary | Feb 13, 03:45 PM

  4. It’s fascinating to see the integration of industrial elements with traditional weaving techniques. The details of this chair are where it is most beautiful.

    Ellen Lupton | Feb 13, 05:36 PM

  5. Mary, I totally agree! Each time I visit the exhibition I want to touch, yank, and play with the plastic objects woven into the chair like the trash I kick next to the curb. The chair certainly rattles me and I like it very much.

    Alexander Tibbets | Feb 20, 11:50 AM

  6. The slideshow is a rare treat, indeed. To watch the process unfold— the interaction between hands, materials and objects. It’s beautiful. Thanks!

    The Curated Object | Mar 3, 10:42 AM

  7. I just saw the chair at the cooper hewitt and thought it to be somewhat conceptually interesting, but the locations of the plastic materials felt arbitrary and poorly visually designed. It could of had a more impressive effect if they had thought about the arrangement in a less scattered way.The concept of mixing nature with synthetic is not new, Christo has been doing it for a long time. Compared to the work comming out of Droog and the Netherlands this does not compare conceptually.

    David | Mar 7, 12:03 AM