‘We wear the same shoes, listen to the same playlists, and watch the same films,’ says designer Matteo Guarnaccia. ‘But do we also use the same chairs? Do we sit in the same way?’ Driven by these questions and by his curiosity regarding production methods and how globalisation is affecting design, Guarnaccia travelled around the world to visit the eight most densely populated countries. In each country he stayed for one month. Once arrived, Guarnaccia crisscrossed metropoles and villages, visited markets and museums, and talked to the local inhabitants about their customs and habits, local politics and history – sometimes using hand and feet. This way he was able to form a picture of a country’s culture in a short space of time, with a keen awareness of his limited perspective as a (western) outsider. Working with local designers, he then translated that image into a design that had to result in a real chair within that same month, including a photo shoot and presentation. After all, on the first day of the next month Guarnaccia would fly off to his next destination. Guarnaccia started in Brazil and went on to visit Mexico, Japan, Indonesia, China, India, Russia and Nigeria. After eight intensive months, he returned home with eight different chairs as eight portraits of a country.
The Chinese chair combines the notion of the ‘Made in China’ copycat industry with China’s growing market for sustainable production methods. That is why the cheap white Monobloc garden chair has been decorated with a locally produced fabric made of recycled plastic. The rear side of this ‘Yin Yang’ chair now carries the label ‘Nicely made in China’.
[text 2023]