sustainable ukrainian gunyas and tableware explore notions of home, loss and war

home(land) at dutch design week 2022

At Dutch Design Week 2022, Dasha Tsapenko and Nazar Gresko brought together a group of Ukrainian and Dutch designers to present Home(Land) — an exhibition reflecting on notions of home, loss, and memory, through narratives of sustainable design practices. Unveiling new perspectives through design, together, the curators and artists reflect on the stories and effects of war, and cast a hopeful glance at the possible future — ‘towards a Home(Land) that we grow, repair and upcycle together’.

The showcase reveals these visions through a series of nuanced objects and processes, fusing traditional Ukrainian crafts and practices rooted in nature, with cutting-edge knowledge on bio-design and sustainable development in the Netherlands. Home(Land) exhibits innovative and inspiring creations from several interdisciplinary designers to present tableware sets made from rubble of broken homes, ceramics glazed with salt from Crimea, and Ukrainian shepherds’ Gunya coats woven from mycelium and hemp, dyed using natural pigmentation.

exploring memories of home & war through sustainable design

Exploring notions of one’s homeland beyond the country that they were born in, curators Dasha Tsapenko and Nazar Gresko question themes of security and nature, tradition and innovation, resilience and creativity, and sustainability and futureproofing — in search for alternative production processes with natural materials. The Home(Land) exhibition recalls stories of home, loss and war, through two innovative storylines of tableware sets, and the traditional Ukrainian Gunya worn typically by shepherds in the Carpathians.

Telling stories of local materials with natural components and living organisms, designers weave Gunyas out of mycelium and hemp, introducing cellulose and protein-based materials in combination with traditional felt and wool design. Meanwhile, natural dyeing techniques, including using leftover cooking ingredients or fungal pigmentation, are used in creative expressions experimenting with possibilities of outcomes.

uniting tradition and innovation

Further, a group of creatives explore the themes of the exhibition through a collection of tablewares. The curators use a set table as a symbol of homeliness, showcasing different design techniques and materials that serve as catalysts for stories about people, land, and war. ‘Sharing a good meal with our loved ones, sipping a hot drink from a favorite mug, or cooking soup according to a family recipe — can be a way to feel at home, wherever you are.’ explains the team.

All five designers approach tableware from a different starting point. Charlotte Visser glazes bowls using an old Dutch technique of salt-firing, with various Ukrainian salts retrieved from territories that are currently occupied: Crimea, Donbas and West. Meanwhile, Anna Riabova conceives tableware from rubble of broken homes, as Oksana Denusevuch glazes her ceramics with various types of milk from local farmers with their own hopeful stories on peace.

1/6

project info:

name: Home(Land)
designer: Anna Riabova, Basse Stittgen, Charlotte Visser, Ilse Kremer, Marjo Van Schaik, Oksana Denusevuch, Oksana Devoe, Ruslana Goncharuk, Sacha Popruga, Sietske Klooster, Stijn van Ardenne

curator: Dasha Tsapenko and Nazar Gresko

organizer: Art East Art West and Narada Foundation

program: Dutch Design Week 2022

dates: 22 to 30 October, 2022

location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions’ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.