╳ Set up in 1994, ‘Fabrica’, Benetton’s Communication Research Centre, is the fruit of the Group’s cultural legacy. An applied creativity laboratory and talent incubator for artists from all over the world, to develop innovative projects and explore new directions; these artist-experimenters are accompanied along their research path by leading figures in art and communication, blurring the boundaries of culture and language to transgress traditional borders between a diverse range of communication mediums. With a brief such as this, it’s difficult not to imagine the creativity oozing out of this lab. ╳ Very ‘Bio-inspired,’ the 'Imaginaires' installation by Fabrica was held at the New Museum, during New York Design Week 2009. The handmade ceramic pieces, representing the plant world and sophisticated blown-glass objects, were merged with electric systems to create a new perspective of reality. An electric plug generated leaves or flowers, or a cabbage became an integral part of an exquisite interactive clock in which the numbers ‘meet’ in nature.
╳ With inspiration drawn from the natural world 'Imaginaires' certainly challenges traditional distinctions between ‘natural’ and ‘man-made’, combining both elements to create an experience which is both unique and thoughtful.
