Formafantasma – a design studio led by Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin – respond to the challenge of climate change by researching old technologies, which may have something to teach us.
Here you see one of their earliest projects, focusing on the all-but-forgotten craft of charcoal burning.
Given concerns about carbon in the atmosphere, charcoal might not seem like a very sustainable material. Yet it is an excellent means of water filtration. It was this property that inspired Formafantasma to make a series of objects with Swiss charcoal burner Doris Wicki. Their collaborative works are presented here alongside historic views of Chatsworth, where charcoal was once an important fuel source.
Will our world continue to be darkened by pollution? Or will we find a cleaner, healthier way forward? Formafantasma’s artefacts ask these questions, encouraging us to build a sustainable future.
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Painted Hall
Maker Bench (Hexagon) prototype, 2018
oak, walnut
Maker Bench (Hexagon) 2018
oak, walnut
Joris Laarman (b.1979), The Netherlands
Grotto
Cryo III, 2022
Steel, wood polystyrene, polyurea, aluminium foil, resin, suede, onyx
Concretion (edition 3/8), 2021
Aluminium
Chris Schanck (b. 1975), USA
The Chapel
Pew Bench/Moon (edition 2 of 8), 2016
Spoon Chair / Moon (edition 1 of 8), 2016
Spoon Chair / Moon (prototype), 2016
all sand-cast bronze, silver nitrate
Lode II (edition 1 of 8), 2021
Trove I, 2022
Trove II, 2022
Plot II (Prototype), 2022
all hand-carved Purbeck marble
Faye Toogood (b.1977), UK
The Oak Room
Hoard of Oak Hill, 2022
hand-carved oak
Hoard I, 2022
hand-carved bog oak
Hoard II, 2022
hand-carved bog oak
Faye Toogood (b. 1977), UK
Chapel Corridor
Rhythms Vase, 2014
white stoneware clay, with stained highlights
Ingxondorha (Volatile Rocky Terrain), 2022
Umthombo (Spring), 2022
Umgodi (A Mine), 2022
Amaza (Waves), 2022
Isiziba (A Pool), 2022
glazed, hand-coiled stoneware
Cornish Waterfall, 2019
stoneware
Andile Dyalvane (b. 1978)
Great Chamber
Vase no. 7, 2006
glass and rope
Vase no. 16, 2006
glass and patinated aluminium wire
Xiangzheng, 1999
glass polished and oxidised aluminium wire
Vase no. 4, 2006
glass and rope
Lingam, 1999
Lingam, 1999
Lingam, 1999
glass
Ettore Sottsass (1917–2007), Italy
State Drawing Room
6 x 8 chair, 2021
western red cedar
6 x 8 chair, 2021
western red cedar
Max Lamb (b. 1980) UK
State Music Room
Salvage Series Chatsworth Chair, 2021
various plastics, leather cord, plywood
Jay Sae Jung Oh (b. 1982), South Korea & USA
State Bedchamber
Black Furry Armchair (Prototype), 2022
dyed agave fibres, upholstered linen polyester blend, plywood
White Agave Cabinet, 2021
birch plywood, sisal, steel mesh, kiln-dried Canadian maple
Fernando Laposs (b.1988), Mexico
State Closet
Turbine II Wine Cooler, 2013
Silver Palm Vase, 2020
Midrib Harmony Vase, 2020
Bowl, 2022
Cup, 2018
Cup, 2020
Journey Vase, 2001
all hammer-raised Britannia silver 958
Ndidi Ekubia (b. 1973), UK
Old Master Drawings Cabinet
Design development process drawings by artists including Giulio Romano (c. 1499–1546) and William Kent (1685–1748).
Devonshire Collections
South Sketch Gallery
Enignum Brackets, 2022
ash
Joseph Walsh (b. 1979), Ireland
Sabine Room
Enignum VIII Bed, 2015
ash
Joseph Walsh (b. 1979), Ireland
North sketch
Dressing table
Writing table
David Roentgen (1743-1807), Devonshire Collections
Library
Bamboo Lamp Series, 2021
moss bamboo, waxed linen thread, pewter, spring steel, brass, borosilicate glass, components
Michael Anastassiades (b. 1967), UK
The Vestibule
Dark Vernus 1, 2021
blued steel and glass
Untitled #7, 2023
sound piece
Ini Archibong (b.1983), USA & Switzerland
Sculpture Gallery
Amnesia or platelet apparition?(edition 3 of 8), 2021
marble, powder-coated steel
Optimistic uncertainties. solicit integration (Material Articulation), Prototype, 2021
Fior di Pesca marble
Anxiety Birthed Corrosion (edition 1 of 8), 2021
marble, painted steel
Jut, impale, emerge (edition of 8), 2021
marble, powder-coated steel
Samuel Ross (b. 1991), UK
Salisbury Lawn
Chatsworth Symbio Bench, 2023
Burntwood Quarry Gritstone, Bryophytes
Joris Laarman (b. 1979), The Netherlands
Rose Garden
Seduction, Pair 06 (edition 4 of 8), 2019
Iranian red travertine
Najla El Zein (b. 1983), Iran
The Ring Pond
Illusion-Reality-Truth (edition 1 of 8), 2015
Temptation (edition 3 of 8) 2014
A New Seeing (edition 1 of 8) 2015
all bronze
Wendell Castle (1932 - 2018), USA
