Symbiosis: Willow and Cattail

The Textile Studio of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague focuses on sustainable materials and, in addition to modern technologies, on reviving traditional craft techniques and introducing them to contemporary needs. Their activities are gaining increasing popularity not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad. At Dutch Design Week their project Symbiosis: Willow and Cattail was selected for the special BioArt Laboratories section.

The willow and the narrow-leaved cattail are long associated with the Czech landscape and traditional crafts. In order to properly use these plants it is necessary to have knowledge about their growth, harvesting, and processing methods. UMPRUM students experienced all of this during distance learning caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "Through mapping and analysis of individual sites and local specifics, they have sourced renewable materials. They learned how to harvest, process and create unique, sustainable objects set in the context of contemporary design," as Jitka Škopová the head of the studio explains this challenging project.

Each of the materials has specific characteristics, stories, and history of processing. The cattail is both light and soft. It is often used to make blankets, bags, shoes, and headwear. It was also the most common material used by students in their assignments to create interior, and fashion accessories. We can mention the handbags of Hana Glozová, sandals from Adela Holešová, objects by Františka Benčaťová, and masks by Eliška Hanušová. Gabriela Pecharová's set for bread making is certainly worth attention, where the vessels and flour are obtained from the cattail.

Willow, on the other hand, thanks to its strength and stability, allows the creation of larger objects. Here, small objects have been replaced by large-scale realisations suitable for public space. The unifying motif of the joint installation was the stylization of each object in the shape of a letter, which together carried the message "Whisper to the willow".

"The joint installation reveals the relationship between the designer and nature in mutual symbiosis and consideration. It tells a story about the possibilities of creative work with the resources that nature offers us and about the fragile interdependence of the ecosystem, about the balance in which both man and the landscape decay when it is shifted", summarises Jitka Škopová's project Symbiosis: Willow and Cattail (Vrba a orobinec)

Exhibitors: Františka Benčaťová, Natalia Dvořáková, Kateřina Forejtová, Hana Glozová, Eliška Hanušová, Antonie Hlavicová, Adéla Holešová, Thea Chatrná, Karolína Kopřivová, Magdalena Pacáková, Gabriela Pecharová, Adam Pisca, Emma Šádová.
Pedagogical leadership: Jitka Škopová, and Anna Fiala Leschinger.
Architectural design: Jitka Škopová
Graphic design: Petr Hrůza
Production: Anna Fiala Leschinger, and Michaela Kaplánková.