Corn Craft aims to elevate the agrarian through design intervention, transforming grain from inexpensive raw material to refined design. In a bid to revive forgotten folk craft, a select group of contemporary designers were asked to capture the beauty of corn in its various forms. The result is this collection of one-off, site-specific pieces that aim to celebrate its value as a design material and its potential power for sustainability.
A long table by Raw-Edges Design Studio has been designed to mimic a cornfield, made of bearded wheat, oats and barley stalks, and set in old wooden display cabinets. This is showcased alongside Crop, a collection of one-off pieces by Naco Carbonell, and a site-specific installation of hanging, garland-like strands of wheat by Rowan Mersh.
To launch the exhibition, Gallery Fumi and Studio Toogood staged a conceptual dining event based on the Pagan festival of thanks, the Harvest Festival. The Modern Pantry recast corn in a literal and an abstract way, creating an experimenatl menu of corn-based recipes served by waiters dressed in corn dolly-inspired adornments. Each guest left with a bespoke crystal and tumbler detailed with engravings by Max Lamb and Gemma Holt for Lobmeyr.
Gallery Fumi, 16 Hoxton Square, Second Floor Flat
