UTOPIA
Utopia is an immersive installation of functional sculptures that realise a vision of sustainable urban living, creating public spaces where people and nature harmoniously coexist.
The other-worldly installations are made from cork and were unveiled in November 2023 throughout the Design District, ahead of Miami Art Week. Commissioned in collaboration with Design Miami/ Curatorial Lab, Bohinc’s sculptures greeted visitors at the entrance of the international collectible design fair Design Miami/.
Utopia is Bohinc Studio’s first public commission in the US and spans four installations featuring irregular, bulbous forms reminiscent of growing cellular organisms and lifeforms. Friendly and dynamic, the sculptures are suggestive of living objects, mushrooming across the district with their kind yet mysterious presence.
The colourful and tactile sculptures include outdoor seaters, tables, and imposing 3 metre tall light sculptures, placed within proximity to create intimate and comforting resting places. A constellation of nine hundred eggshaped birdhouses will be interspersed among the tree branches, providing colourful refuge and shade for local wildlife. Echoing the function of the birdhouses, a giant, centrepiece 2 metre tall egg-form will provide a playful hideout for small children. At night, the solar-powered sculptures will come to life and create an atmospheric luminous glow.
Painted by hand in vibrant pastel hues of pistachio, aqua, lavender, cherry blossom and eggshell blue, Bohinc’s designs pay homage to Miami’s architectural colour palette and bring elements of playfulness, functionality and comfort to the outdoor areas that the installations inhabit. With a focus on environmental issues, Bohinc’s pieces are made from cork – a natural, waterproof and environmentally friendly material, native to Portugal, constructed with the assistance of a 5D robotic milling machine and completed by hand.
The thought-provoking sculptures invite passersby to interact with their functional forms and clustered together, conceptualise a utopian future that questions how we might better engage with the natural world. Intermingling with the District’s walkways and enlivening the public spaces as a place to convene, the organic objects become a living thread, engaging with the native trees and architecture to create a place of reflection for visitors.
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