british sculptor alex chinneck, known for inverting electricity pylons and tying grandfather clocks in knots, has ‘unzipped’ the façade of a building in milan as part of the city’s design week festivities. to create the dramatic effect, chinneck created a totally new elevation in the style of traditional milanese architecture, which appears to open up to reveal the building’s interior. the interior spaces, on the other hand, are radically transformed through unexpected ‘openings’ in the cement pavement and stone walls.
all images by marc wilmot
serving as the project’s distinctive feature, the zip is used as a device through which the artist gives way to a series of surreal crevices from which an ethereal and weightless light disseminates. ‘through the repeated use of the zipper, we have opened up the fabric of a seemingly historic milanese building to playfully re-imagine what lies behind its façade, floors and walls,’ explains alex chinneck.
the walls and floor become metaphors for a process of transformation, evoking — through a series of portals — seemingly infinite routes to a newly imagined future. ‘ethereal light pours through each opening, filling the space with color and filling the work with a sense of positivity and potential,’ chinneck continues. the project spazio quattrocento until april 14, 2019 as part of milan design week. see designboom’s ongoing coverage of the world’s biggest design event here.
project info:
artist: alex chinneck
name: IQOS world revealed by alex chinneck
presented by: philip morris international
location: spazio quattrocento – opificio 31, via tortona 31, milan
dates: april 9-14, 2019 from 10AM to 9PM
photography: marc wilmot
ALEX CHINNECK (15)
Apr 20, 2021
Feb 07, 2020
Sep 29, 2019
Aug 01, 2018
May 19, 2018MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2019 (108)
Mar 27, 2020
Nov 28, 2019
Nov 20, 2019
Nov 10, 2019
Jun 18, 2019PRODUCT LIBRARY
Oct 15, 2021
Oct 13, 2021
Oct 07, 2021
Sep 28, 2021
Speechless and riverting. What kind of mind can produce this? Magnifico!
Love the fact that this ties into the textile design industry in Milan as well. I love Milan.
I’ve always been fascinated by zippers. This is really super duper cool!