FORBIDDEN FRUIT by Nadja Zerunian at Design Miami Basel 2021 – Photo by James Harris.
Basel 2021 – Throughout the centuries, the Forbidden Fruit has been associated with temptation, seduction and lust, burdened with polemic values that defined visual language in contemporary culture. From here, Vienna-based Nadja Zerunian teamed up with Roma craftspeople in Transylvania and master artisans from Austria, Albania, Georgia and Romania to create exquisite objects inviting us to revisit pre-formed cultural assumptions and prejudices.
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Photo by James Harris.
Across a dark, dramatic background, the display features bespoke tableware and home accessories made in copper, silver. All the pieces were masterly handcrafted: chased, gold plated, enamel-coated, bronze cast, glass-mouth blown, engraved, wood carved. The Forbidden Fruit installation in Basel unlocks “a whole and intense universe expressed through objects – frozen, hesitantly waiting to continue the never-ending story. Forbidding and precious, as the famed fruit.” Says Nadja Zerunian to Archipanic.
Photo by James Harris.
Curated by Maria Cristina Didero, the Forbidden Fruit exhibition showcases unique pieces set with plants and dark feathers to highlight a sense of guilt, triggering a reflection on judgment and prejudice while contrasting the silent materiality of the designs.
Courtesy of Nadja Zerunian.
Nadja Zerunian designs spaces and creates limited-edition collections with a quirky and ‘dark’ imprinting. Her work questions contemporary issues while highlighting artisans’ potential, relevance, and knowledge in many parts of the world.
- Photo by James Harris – Courtesy of Design Miami/ Basel 2021 or Nadja Zerunian.
Courtesy of Nadja Zerunian.
