Relations with the Earth: let's dig deep! Ukrainian pavilion at Dutch Design Week

/ Thoughts /

At the end of October, the Dutch Design Week was held in Eindhoven. For the third year in a row, a separate Ukrainian project has been presented there. This time, he combined five studies on the topic of new materials and products into a general concept Affair with Earth.

Alternative materials are a common theme for DDW. Every year they are given more attention and exhibition space. Until recently, skeptics attributed this to the general utopian mood of the exhibition, where some of the projects are more for reflection than for implementation. However, recently new materials began to appear in another league - in the collections of big brands.

Temporary Art Center in Eindhoven. Photo: Cleo Goossens

So, this winter Philippe Starck together with the Cassina brand presented furniture with upholstery created on the basis of apple skins. And Stella McCartney designed tennis dresses for Adidas from spider silk grown in a laboratory. And this is just the beginning. A boom awaits us soon, as hundreds of vegan fabrics, building materials and composite surfaces from all kinds of recycled raw materials are being developed and tested right now. Experiments are ongoing in laboratories around the world, the purpose of which is to determine how humanity will continue to live. At least I want to believe it.

Through innovative materials, the project makes sense of the cultural code broadcast by Ukrainian designers

The global idea of ​​the Affair with Earth project is to connect modern and innovative products with their deep roots, to understand the cultural code that Ukrainian designers and artists involuntarily broadcast.

"Ukrainian design corresponds to the global trend of Glocalization. This is a combination of globalization and localization, solving common world issues with the involvement of local capabilities, local materials and crafts. It is at the intersection of traditions and the future that non-standard and relevant projects arise, and that is why Ukrainian design today is at the very epicenter of glocalization," says Olena Oranska, curator of the project, founder of the Art-East+Art-West foundation.

Olena Oranska, curator of the Affair with Earth project

"As a curator, I feel that interest in Ukrainian design is increasing. When we first presented the project at Dutch Design Week, the local publication included it in the TOP-10 Must See exhibitions. In the spring of this year, the influential American online media Domino published a selection of 10 Ukrainian brands. The article began with the idea that Ukrainian design may soon become trendy, as it once happened with Scandinavian design. Thanks to the collective stands and the successes of individual designers, international interest in our product is growing," says project curator, architect and founder of the Prostir 86 design platform Olga Bogdanova.

Olga Bogdanova, curator of the Affair with Earth project

The Ukrainian pavilion perfectly fit into the general philosophical and research mood of Dutch Design Week. The conceptual scenography of the space enhanced the effect. The idea of ​​the art director of the project, Dasha Tsapenko, was to create a sterile laboratory space where living sprouts would grow on high operating tables. Each material was presented at different stages of its production, and the finished sample was hung above the table.

Affair with Earth exhibition. Photo: Annegret Boenemann

The greens on the tables are chia sprouts. During the nine days of the exhibition, they turned from tiny pale threads into a springy green carpet. The idea was implemented by the PROSO atelier. The graphic design of the project was developed by Serhii Chebotaryov.

All exhibits were presented on tables covered with chia sprouts that could be touched and even tasted

Atomik vodka production process at the Affair with Earth exhibition. Photo: Annegret Boenemann

The project was organized by the design platform Prostir 86, the Art-East+Art-West foundation and the European Enterprise Network with the support of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Netherlands, the Ukrainian Institute, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

 

DevoHome company with Hemp Fur

The brand, specializing in the production of textiles from hemp, has created an alternative to animal fur and artificial synthetic fur. In appearance, it is similar to sheepskin, and when worn, it manifests itself in the same way.

Oksana Devo, founder of the DevoHome brand

Hemp is a plant unique in its properties. No pesticides or herbicides are needed for their cultivation. Hemp produces two crops a year, requires 75% less water than cotton and absorbs 4 times more CO2 than most trees. Hemp Fur is made from hemp fiber grown in the pure region of the Poltava region.

Hemp fur is similar to sheepskin, when worn, it manifests itself in the same way - it forms beautiful strands

Hemp Fur is pleasant to the touch, natural, hypoallergenic, warm and practical material. In winter, a hemp fur coat is comfortable at temperatures down to -30 °C. The production of hemp fur is ethical and ecological, it does not require the killing of animals. Also, Hemp Fur is not a potential source of microplastics, which favorably distinguishes it from synthetic fur.

Hemp fur home textiles from DevoHome

Stages of hemp fiber processing. Photo: Serhiy Chebotaryov
Stages of hemp fiber processing. Photo: Serhiy Chebotaryov
Stages of hemp fiber processing. Photo: Serhiy Chebotaryov

 

The Chernobyl Spirit Company with Atomik vodka

The project, in which a group of Ukrainian and British scientists investigated the possibility of agricultural use of land in the zone of mandatory resettlement, which suffered as a result of radioactive contamination after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Jim Smith, professor of environmental sciences at the University of Portsmouth, head of the radiometric laboratory of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute and liquidator Hennadiy Laptev, and geologist and radiochemist Kyrylo Korychenskyi develop the Atomik project in their free time in parallel with scientific work.

Jim Smith, founder of The Chernobyl Spirit Company

For the production of an experimental batch, they used grain grown in the Chernobyl zone. These samples had a slight excess of the permissible concentration of strontium-90. In the process of making alcohol, the amount of impurities in the grain decreased, and scientists found only the natural radionuclide carbon-14 in the finished drink. Its concentration was no greater than in any other alcoholic drink. Distilled alcohol was diluted with mineral water from a deep aquifer in the city of Chornobyl, which has a similar chemical composition to groundwater in the Champagne region of France. No radioactive contamination was detected in the water.

Scientists created alcohol from radiation-contaminated grain by double distillation and filtration

Atomik vodka, created by The Chernobyl Spirit Company from radiation-contaminated grain

Grain grown in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Photo: Serhiy Chebotaryov

The project proves that revitalization of the territory and agricultural use of land in the Chernobyl zone is possible.

The creators of Atomik aim to set up production in such a way as to attract to it people who continue to live in the resettlement zone and suffer from unemployment. A significant part of the profits from the project will be directed to support local communities and the wild nature of Chernobyl.

Yuriy Ryntovt and the surface of Terra

The founder of the Ryntovt Design studio has been creating furniture with expressive eco-aesthetics for about 25 years. In the Terra project, it lifts the horizontal layers of the earth vertically. Now we can look into the face of the Earth, touch its wrinkles. Yuriy Ryntovt developed an original surface created on the basis of chernozem for the facades of one of his furniture collections.

Yuriy Ryntovt, founder of the company Ryntovt Design

The idea of ​​the project is the anthem of the Earth. "We feel joy from working with the land. Such a primitive joy was felt by a person when he worked on the earth, saw its capacity for annual renewal, observed a living miracle - from the first sprouts to a bountiful harvest. We feel almost physical pain from the disrespect, economic contempt with which man treats nature. The attitude towards the earth as a shrine, which existed in the pre-technological era, is being erased," says Ryntovt.

The earth is alive, it breathes, loves us and endures. What will happen when one day her patience runs out?

Terra dresser from Ryntovt Design

At Dutch Design Week, derivative materials — chernozem, clay, sand — were presented, as well as the texture options that each of them creates.

 

Dasha Tsapenko with the manifesto project "Live Fur"

A graduate of the famous Design Academy in Eindhoven grew fur from sprouted chia seeds. The idea of ​​the project is to rethink the status of clothing and the way to interact with it.

Dasha Tsapenko, author of the "Live Fur" project, art director of the Affair with Earth exhibition

In contrast to mindless consumption of things, the designer offers a completely different relationship. Imagine a cloak or dress that you grow like a living thing, take care of it, protect it from damage, walk in this garment in the rain to water the sprouts. Such a new concept of clothing questions the position of man as the center of the ecosystem and provokes a new awareness of his place in the world.

Another aspect is rethinking our attitude to "bad weather". After all, sitting at home during the rain is not an option for the owner of a dress or cloak made of live fur. It's better to go for a walk and get your clothes wet!

A sample of "living fur" created by Dasha Tsapenko

Dress made of "live fur", created by Dasha Tsapenko. Photo by Romy Finke

 

Valentyn Frechka with Re-leaf material

Back in his school years, Valentin researched that cellulose can be extracted not only from tree trunks, but also from leaves. He invented a method to implement this and launched the Re-leaf Paper project. The goal of the project is to offer an alternative to traditional wood-based paper and to solve the problem of fallen leaves in the city.

Valentin Frechka, founder of the project

Despite digitization in all spheres of life, the volume of paper consumption in the world is growing every year. Many companies and individuals are switching from plastic to paper packaging to be more environmentally friendly. This is a misunderstanding of sustainable development and a dangerous practice. After all, paper is mostly made from wood, and forests are not regenerated so quickly. It is necessary to find an alternative source of cellulose, and this can be fallen leaves.

RE-leaf paper decomposes in 30-40 days, while traditional paper takes a little more than 100 days

Autumn November occurs in all regions with a temperate climate. Leaves are treated differently in different areas. For example, in Kyiv, communal services took it to landfills until recently. It happens that cleaners rake leaves into piles and burn them, harming people's health and the environment. Thanks to the Re-leaf technology, leaves are transformed from garbage into a valuable resource.

A paper bag that was created from fallen leaves

Re-leaf. Paper from fallen leaves, an invention of Valentin Frechka. Photo: Serhiy Chebotaryov

Now Valentin Frechka is eighteen years old. He studies at the university and cooperates with a cardboard plant in Zhytomyr, where he improves the technology of making paper from leaves. Valentine's goal is to launch the product into mass production. The inventor is convinced that Re-leaf is able to compete on the market with traditional paper.

 

Text: Nadia Sheykina