The Iceland Whalebone project, ECAL, photography by Emile Barret
The Iceland Whalebone project, ECAL, photography by Emile Barret The Iceland Whalebone project, ECAL, photography by Emile Barret

Lovely bones: ECAL unveils primitive work in Milan

12 : 04 : 2013 Raw Materials : Hrefna : Primative Tools

Milan – The Iceland Whale Bone project, a collaboration between 17 students at École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) and the Iceland Academy of the Arts, is the result of a one-week workshop in which the two groups embarked on a design experiment in a barren landscape.

‘It was about going back to basics,’ ECAL’s Milos Ristin tells LS:N Global. Raw materials collected from the sea such as shark skin and shards taken from whale carcasses such as bone and tooth were used as resources.

‘It didn’t make sense to do things in a pragmatic way, simply because the environment didn’t invite us to follow that path,’ says designer Brynjar Siguroarson. Using only the primitive tools available to them, the designers developed a series of sculptural functional pieces, all holding the raw markings of their origin. The primitive collection includes Hrefna, an object composed from the skull of a minke whale, and Hákari, a collection of intricate blades made from the razor sharp teeth of the north Atlantic Greenland shark. 

For other examples of the sensitive use of animal bio-products, see Studio FormaFantasma’s project Craftica for Fendi, presented at the latest Design Miami/Basel

LS:N Global is reporting all week from Milan Design Week. Visit our Seed section for daily updates.

Discover More Daily Signals
British Airways turns safety briefing into cultural escape

Daily Signals

British Airways turns safety briefing into cultural escape

British Airways is reframing the role of travel with a new campaign that positions flying as a psychological reset.
Travel And Hospitality : Marketing : Souljourns
Polymarket’s Situation Room brings fintech into the social sphere

Daily Signals

Polymarket’s Situation Room brings fintech into the social sphere

Crypto prediction platform Polymarket is merging finance and spectacle offline with a Washington DC pop-up bar, underlining the growing convergence...
Polymarket : Prediction Market : Cultural Capital
Stat: Retailers rethink loyalty as consumers shop smarter

Daily Signals

Stat: Retailers rethink loyalty as consumers shop smarter

Retailers are rethinking loyalty as competition intensifies and AI reshapes how consumers shop.
Retail : Loyalty : Statistic
Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Daily Signals

Channel 4 captures the raw energy of women’s football in new campaign

Channel 4 has launched Pure Football, a mixed media campaign celebrating its coverage of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, placing authenticity and fan cul...
Marketing : Channel 4 : Womens Sport
What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Daily Signals

What Remedy Place’s NAD+ pen reveals about the future of longevity treatments

Social wellness club Remedy Place is bringing clinical wellness into the home with a new NAD+ Smart Pen, developed in partnership with UK-based NAD...
Wellness : Longevity : Health
Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

Daily Signals

Stat: How happiness is reshaping policymaking priorities

The 2026 World Happiness Report reinforces wellbeing as a critical measure of progress, drawing on nationally representative data from ne...
Social Media : Gen Z : Statistic
Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Daily Signals

Huggies puts its product claims to the ultimate stress test

Nappy brand Huggies’ latest campaign, Expensive Sh*t’, sees 18 babies wearing Huggies Little Snugglers on luxury goods worth £373,000 ($500,000, €4...
Advertising : Humour : Parenting
What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Daily Signals

What Zara’s archival strategy signals for the future of high street retail

Fashion retailer Zara is repositioning itself between mass market and luxury with a two-year partnership with acclaimed fashion designer John Galli...
Retail : Fashion : Design
Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

Daily Signals

Stat: Parents sound alarm as children’s digital identities form too early

A new survey from Proton reveals that concern about children’s online privacy has become the norm, not the exception, as digital identities are for...
Online Safety : Parenting : Statistic
How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Daily Signals

How WMH&I is uniting land and people through design

Environmental charity Natural Habitat has unveiled a new identity by WMH&I, designed to reconnect communities with land through emotionally res...
Sustainability : Design : Branding
You have 1 free Daily Signals remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN