Austrian design duo mischer’traxler designs products and installations with a craft-based approach that also integrates technology. Nature has been at the heart of their work for nearly 15 years.
In 2015, mischer’traxler created for Maison Perrier-Jouët Curiosity Cloud, which explored the impact of human activity on biodiversity. It represents a tree from which are suspended clear glass bulbs containing hand-crafted insects that begin to move when anyone approaches. Some of the species represented are common, while others have been recently discovered, or are threatened, or indeed invasive. All cohabit in this installation, which highlights the cycle of life, from extinction to rediscovery.
In 2021, Maison Perrier-Jouët and the duo will continue to explore the theme of interaction between man and nature. The cornerstone of the collaboration is their installation I am Nature, which is a creative work and an emotional experience for them. The work, which represents around 150 different species, highlights the place of man within biodiversity. Biodiversity begins with what we can see – plants, flowers, birds – then, at ground level, all the smaller species, and finally the microbes and bacteria in the subsoil. In this installation, all the species are represented on the same scale in order to emphasise the equality of their roles in the ecosystem. The image of man in the mirror disappears, to be replaced by that of nature. An individual experience with a collective reality.