swiss design association

Série F.
Client: Private comission
Droits: Alix Arto
Durée: 2023 - 2025

Originally from South America, the agave is an exotic plant imported to the Mediterranean basin in the 17th century. It is now considered in the Calanques National Park as an invasive plant and threatens the local biodiversity. In order to preserve the fauna, uprooting campaigns take place in the park. Thanks to the collaboration of the people in charge of conservation, I was able to have access to these plants (initially destined for the landfill) to upcycle them. Rooted in Mexico’s ancestral use of agave fibre and at the crossroads with southern French know-how, several objects for domestic use have been created: handmade paper lamps collection made from textile waste and agave fibres’ remnants and a textile collection made from agave fibres processed into yarn. With a desire to explore color, I dyed the fibers vegetally with food scraps and local plants. The lamps were made in collaboration a local paper mill specialised in rag paper. We carried out a number of assembly tests with agave fibres, using the traditional filigree technique to create a transparent circle when the light is switched on. Like a painting, this table lamp, with its minimal structure, exposes the paper and its fibre, creating a formal play with light.