The Instant of Change: how do materials taste?

Artist and food designer Alessandra Pallotta's installation invites visitors to discover what happens when design becomes edible, in a series of abstract forms that can be shared with the public. Featuring an intervention by Chinese photographer Ting Tang.

At its fourth edition, The Instant of Change returns to the spaces of via Molino delle Armi for Milan Design Week 2024 (April 16-21). Curated by Luca A. Caizzi and in collaboration with Ceramiche Caesar, QuadroDesign and Rexa.

What happens when design is made edible? To mark Milan Design Week 2024, Mo.1950 presents "The Instant of Change" in its showroom on Via Molino delle Armi. In its fourth edition, the project curated by Luca A. Caizzi continues to investigate the transformation of matter through the work of artist and food designer Alessandra Pallotta. In a stimulating dialogue with the Mo.1950 showroom's brand partners, Pallotta is inspired by the colors of the new collections of Ceramiche Caesar, QuadroDesign and Rexa and creates the abstract forms SWEET PILLARS and INTERPILLARS.

The three monumental 2-D sugar SWEET PILLARS, visible on floors 0 and -1 of the showroom, are the outcome of aesthetic research on the concept of foundations and the myth of Atlas, a reminder of the load-bearing pillars that hold up architectural structures and ideally free men from immense burdens.

"The setup was built bit by bit. I started with the colors, then when I saw the space of the Mo.1950 showroom I reflected on dimensions, and then shapes. Everyday furnishing objects introduced me to the concept of home, of "foundation," from there came the pillars, supporting elements of a house. "Sweet Pillars, sugar pillars, I think the duty of pillars is really tiring and that the sweetness would ease the fatigue," Alessandra Pallotta says.

With INTERPILLARS, research on the material expands, reaches down into detail and opens up to interaction with the public. 20 pillar sections are revealed on floor 0 of the showroom, on the kitchen counter, giving rise to a set of different shapes arranged horizontally and vertically. Suggestive scenic objects in the magnificent colors of the collections are available for visitors to observe, touch and interact with.

"The part of interaction with the public is an aspect that comes back very frequently in my work, perhaps the part that reflects me the most. I am interested in generating aggregation and engaging the public on a multisensory level," adds Alessandra Pallotta.

Complementing the exhibit is a series of creative photos taken by Chinese photographer Ting Tang to live capture the interaction between INTERPILLARS fragments of materials and the public. In a sensorial journey where, along with Mo.1950 and brand partners and through the encounter between art and design, everyone will be able to find their own personal answer to the question "How do materials taste?".