Fernando Laposse

Sisal Pup

$7,300.00

Description/

Fernando Laposse considers important environmental concerns through extensive research into the location of materials and their historical and cultural connotations. This has fuelled his passionate interest in sustainability, reversing the loss of biodiversity and community disenfranchisement. His sisal bench presents the material in its raw state to demonstrate the simplicity of process from plant to ﬁnal product. Fernando harvests and crushes the ﬁbres, combs and knots it by hand to make his hairy furniture pieces. // Fernando’s hairy furniture pieces are made with Mexican sisal, the raw fibres from the leaves of the agave plant, which are typically used to make ropes, carpets and fishing nets. Once a large industry in the country, the production of sisal came to a halt after the invention of plastics. Fernando works with rural communities to harvest and process sisal and other indigenous crops, such as corn. His aim is to establish new and long-term industries in the country’s agricultural sector through the development of contemporary design materials.

Fernando Laposse

designer

Fernando Laposse (1988) is a London-based Mexican designer, he trained in Central Saint Martins as a product designer.

Fernando specializes in transforming humble natural materials into refined design pieces. He has worked extensively with overlooked plant fibers such as sisal, loofah, and corn leaves. He often works with indigenous communities in his native Mexico to create local employment opportunities and raise awareness about the challenges they face in a globalized world.

His projects are informative and educational addressing topics such as the environmental crisis, the loss of biodiversity, community dissolution, migration, and the negative impacts of global trade in local agriculture and food culture. He does so by documenting the issues and announcing possible resolutions through the transformative power of design.

His projects have been exhibited in the Triennale di Milano, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, The Design Museum in London, Victoria and Albert, the World Economic Forum, and Miami Basel to name a few. His work is held in the permanent collections of the V&A and SF MoMA.