Design for the environment, Lehanneur at the Triennial

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“The Inventory of Life” is the exhibition at the Milan Triennial, just inaugurated by Mathieu Lehanneur, a meeting point between the French creative genius’ mind and the science of living, and includes four installations. They are called State of the World, 50 Seas, Live / Leave and How Deep is Time which together blur the boundaries between design, science, art and anthropology. Through these four impressive installations, Lehanneur examines the state of the planet with a new awareness of the fragility and perishability of human life, accompanied by the awareness of the long-term damage that the environment suffers due to climate change – with a particular focus on rising sea levels and marine ecosystems.
Each work is based on scientific and statistical data provided from time to time by authoritative sources: from the UN to the World Health Organization, to satellite photographs commissioned by the artist ad hoc for the project. Lehanneur therefore uses design as a discipline to promote the connection between data, the planet and the environment.
“In my work as a designer, artist or architect, and whether I produce a stand-alone or in series, I want each piece to speak in a unique way“, Says Mathieu Lehanneur.

The Inventory of Life includes four installations: State of the World is a majestic work composed of a series of anodized aluminum sculptures representing the history and evolution of the human population in over 150 countries. Each sculpture is the visual transposition of a country that reflects its demographics, birth rate, life expectancy and history. Using a three-dimensional shape, Lehanneur created a quantifiable shape to allow the viewer to quickly understand the data and allow them to recognize themselves as part of a larger story. Through a series of round glazed ceramic sculptures, 50 Seas brings together the endless variations and shades of blue and green in the oceans and oceans of our planet. Using satellite imagery, the series reproduces 50 different gardens and highlights the differences and nuances of watercolor depending on their geographical location. The exhibition at the Triennale in Milan will host a selection of these works. In How Deep is Time, a luminous glass filament hanging from the ceiling represents a visual projection as well as a prediction of the change in sea level in the near future. As this is uncertain and the estimates are mutually variable, in this work Lehanneur crystallizes several predictions, somewhat inconsistent with each other but equally critical of humanity. Live / Leave is a report on the state of mental health on our planet that is highlighted through data on suicide rates in different countries. The installation could provide space for a personal interpretation of the state of happiness in the world. Lehanneur gives visitors, in visual form, an insight into the current situation and highlights the dramatic effect that depression has on our well-being.

The exhibition curated by Maria Cristina Didero can be visited until 12 June 2022 at the Milan Triennial, Viale Alemagna 6, and turns out to be an intense and poetic personal exhibition of the multidisciplinary creative with impressive installations with a high emotional content. In Milan, together with Fuorisalone, Lehanneur examines the state of the planet with a new awareness of the fragility of human life and the long-term damage that the environment suffers due to climate change.

At the forefront of the international design scene, Mathieu Lehanneur is one of the few designers of his generation who is able to embrace several fields of creativity: from objects to architecture, from art to product, from high technology to craftsmanship.
Renew with spectacular and magical projects that mix design, art, science and at the same time
technology. Mathieu Lehanneur has been ranked among the “100 best designers and influencers in the world” by magazines
like Wallpaper * and Surface and has been described as “the champion of intellectual dynamics in design
contemporary ”by Paola Antonelli, Director of MoMA in New York.

The curator of the exhibition, Maria Cristina Didero, adds: “Influenced by everything that is
surrounds, Mathieu Lehanneur is inspired by what he calls in French ‘la matière brute’,
raw material: shapes, forms and objects not yet cast. Through each work,
Lehanneur stages the complexity of our lives and invites us to reflect on
conditions, differences and the uniqueness of our existence. For Lehanneur, the important thing is not
the diversity of information contained in his works, but how they are
received by the public. Gives us the tools to understand a reality that seems abstract
and fleeting, the extent of which apparently exceeds our ability to understand it, there
remember that everything is in our hands ”.

MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2022 MATHIEU LEHANNEUR, THE INVENTORY OF LIFE curated by Maria Cristina Didero 3.-12. June 2022 Triennale Milano, Viale Alemagna 6, Milano

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