majesty exhibition explores the relationship between humans and wild nature

toronto’s istituto italiano di cultura presents majesty. illusion between canada and italy, an exhibition curated by maria cristina didero and francesca molteni. set to open in may, the immersive show has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its format has been rethought. ‘things, as we know, have gone differently,’ comment the curators. ‘nature, invoked, has imposed an unexpected direction on events and even our small exhibition project has been suspended during this rarefied time of social distancing.’

majesty. illusion between canada and italy derives from a conversation between molteni and didero who, together with the istituto italiano di cultura toronto, found a strong link between italy and canada. eager to showcase young italian design, the exhibition presents the work of chiara andreatti and francesco faccin — two designers who explore the relationship between humans and wild nature, a theme that defines canadian culture and identity. as a consequence, the show grasps the ambitious idea of establishing a new dialogue with nature through a subtle narrative constructed with objects, effectively summarized in the video collection and catalog to accompany it.

both andreatti and faccin work with nature by questioning it and challenging the concepts of importance, cruciality, and influence. for them, nature is more than a source of inspiration, it’s also their field of study and ideal research realm. in majesty, the designers turn their complete attention to nature, trying to listen to it again and absorb and translate its vitality, vigor and liveliness so to achieve a connection so deep that humans and nature are again intertwined through creation.

chiara andreatti and francesco faccin’s objects were created with an arts and crafts approach as well as with an archaic touch. the hills of cansiglio — a plateau in the northern italian prealps — act as the stage for the objects to pleasantly occupy, airing a feeling that they belong there while paying homage to the majesty and power of nature. ‘these objects talk about a world that is lost, a profound breath and a break from civilization. for us it’s a way to remark the proximity to our mother land, beyond religion and culture. human instinct and the need for a new relationship with nature are crucial to our survival,’ comment the designers.

when faced with the idea of cancelling the project, the curators were determined to go ahead with it. instead of opening a physical space, they digitally transformed the presentation into a thrilling and exhilarating newsletter. ’this newsletter exhibition is the attempt to answer the challenge,’ said alessandro ruggera, director istituto italiano di cultura toronto. ‘a paradoxical answer. an exhibition is presented on the relationship with nature, while erasing any of its material and tangible traces which are coherent with the dimension of the subversion of reality with which we confront ourselves daily. perhaps, it is what we believe: paradoxically, this absence of reality will help to make our outlook sharper and the exhibition, in its electronic abstraction, will however manage to evoke the wonder of the objects designed by francesco and chiara and encountered during a walk in the forest of cansiglio.’