Lisbon, Portugal
Bianca Bortolini and Marcella Virzi add baroque, sculptural, and contemporary design elements to existing furniture pieces and create the Illusory Objects collection, a series of seating units based on the rebirth of dying techniques, sustainability, and repurposing existing materials.
The Illusory Objects collection has been awarded a Prize Design for Modern Furniture + Lighting 2023 by Global Design News and The Chicago Athenaeum Museum for Architecture and Design.
As both designers say “The use of smart thinking may lead to influence and give a chance to the rebirth of dying techniques.”
The creators believe that this mentality could also be used in the future to apply to plastic objects and furniture.
Made of recycled metals that are wasted by many industries or come simply from demolitions.
Production carries a particularity, most times each object and piece of furniture will be unique, as a work of art in itself since there is no cohesive collection of objects and styles in the garbage bins and thrift shops.
Every piece found will turn out differently, being part of this distinctive proposition.
One that rekindles the relationship between local craftsmen and their nearly forgotten talent.
The process is promising to the small companies that still work with sculpting and chiseling but are now restricted to small productions.
Illusory Objects is inspired by the Egyptian culture.
From time immemorial of the first tribes to the culture of the great Pharaohs period until the Egyptian revival during the Napoleonic times.
In the research, the designers found out that wood was expensive, and most of the furniture then was reserved for the wealthy.
As a display of their affluence, they spoke for status in society.
Mostly thrones, chairs, beds, and seats are still influencing the way furniture is done today.
Giving them new forms from the design elements inspired by ancient thought and aesthetics and also the spiritual, invisible form of its attributes.
Taking from past furniture, their status in society, the meaning and purpose of each creation, and the craftsmanship used to make it and bring it into fresh compositions.
These first attempts to create a new possibility could inspire other designers that could serve both as an exercise in creativity and a new way to perceive what is discarded.
Project: Illusory Objects
Designer: Virzi and Bortolini, Illusory Objects
Lead Designers: Bianca Bortolini and Marcella Virzi
Manufacturer: Virzi and Bortolini, Illusory Objects
