Ocragela: Anima 03 stool
Using ochre, gelatin, glycerin, and water Soowon has developed a contemporary material, called Ocragela, which is sustainable and biodegradable.
‘Tribute to Ochre’ Hence the title of the project is ‘Red Ochre and a Wise Man’. Man has been using red ochre as a natural coloring since prehistoric times. We know it for example from ancient rock drawings and from Egyptian frescoes, but ochre was also used as material to sharpen ivory. Soowon not only uses red ochre as a coloring agent, but also as a tribute to the curiosity and creativity of the prehistoric man, and the respect he showed for nature. How different is the story behind gelatin, often regarded as a kind of ‘inferior’ residual product of the meat-processing and leather-making industry. That is precisely why Soowon chose it as a main ingredient to create a sustainable material with completely new possibilities.
This 1st edition of furniture made of Ocragela questions the value of standardized mass-products of today. As anima, an origin word of animus which means rational soul, life or intelligence, signifies ‘breath’, this design is inspired by intuitive life-form of nature and inherently intelligent animal sand processed in one-of‐a‐kind way from carving the wood to upholstering the structures with Ocragela.
Unique piece
Price on request
