In 2015, then London-based designer Fernando Laposse returned to his native Mexico to launch a collaborative workshop in the Puebla village of Tonahuixtla with the idea of countering the disastrous effects of globalized agriculture on the local industries and environment. Meanwhile, the Central Saint Martins product design program alumnus designed for Faye Toogood while making his own work, now held in the permanent collections of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, SFMOMA, and Victoria & Albert Museum.
This September, for his first show at Friedman Benda’s New York gallery, Laposse goes back to the land of his workshop. “Ghosts of Our Towns” studies three materials developed in the collaboration. An heirloom corn husk veneer forms an intriguing marquetry across the Totomoxtle Snake Coffee Table and the Corn Kumiko consoles. Research into the waste generated by the avocado industry led to an innovative use of the pit to dye tapestry tributes to the self-governing Michoacán town of Cherán. He combed and knotted sisal, the raw fibers nestled within agave plants, to form the charmingly fuzzy ring around the Plywood Mirror, the exterior of the Hair of the Dog cabinet, and the inviting embrace of the Pink Furry Armchair—each proof that the serious business of agricultural ethics can still be a ton of fun.
