Soft Landscape Header
Installation

Soft Landscape by Sarit Shani Hay

A recent collaboration with child-centric designer Sarit Shani HaySoft Landscape is an imaginary natural landscape inhabited by soft, cushioned animals and upholstered in our Blazer and Blazer Lite fabrics in soothing tones of blue and taupe.

With the playful installation now on display at Design Museum Holon - an internationally recognised design museum by Ron Arad - we spoke with Sarit to learn more about this incredible work of art, and what inspired her to create it.

"It is an imaginary landscape scene saturated with contradictions."

 

What was your inspiration for the installation?

 

The work is a site-specific installation, created especially for the Design Museum Holon and taking into account the architectural plan of the museum by Ron Arad.
 
The installation is an imaginary landscape scene saturated with contradictions, which invites an interactive experience while examining concepts such as home refuge, climate and animals and the complexity of wild nature in contradiction to human involvement. Inspired by nature, the soft installation reflects my desire to bring fragments of the natural world into domestic settings.
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In recent years I have become keenly interested in the therapeutic effect that time spent in nature has upon us, particularly on children - a feeling that has enhanced due to our life under the pandemic. Soft Landscape is an attempt to create an escape from daily life - a meditative feeling with a therapeutic quality - through the use of simple, organic, rock-like shapes upholstered in the pure wool fabric Blazer, which invite the viewer to pause, sit and relax.

You previously chose Blazer, our pure wool fabric in the soft grey Silverdale, for your installation The Island, could you tell us which fabrics and shades you've chosen for Soft Landscape?

 

I have once again used Blazer, in combination with Blazer Lite, in different colours and tones. In both installations I was totally inspired by the organic look and feel of this high quality New Zealand wool. It has a cosy, warm feeling which particularly suits the atmosphere I was aspiring to create.

 

Who is this installation intended to appeal to? How do you see it inspiring those who view it?

 

I believe that the installation will appeal to both children and adults, but I have to admit that children are always my main consideration, mainly because of their authenticity and their ability to explore the world with a genuine joy.

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"Childhood is my greatest source of inspiration."

 

You were recently interviewed by Design Milk on Designing for Children + Social Change; could you tell us a little about the topic? 

 

The interview with Design Milk was a great opportunity to share my philosophy as a designer who specialises in design for children, discuss pedagogical spaces, as well as presenting my new book, Sarit Shani Hay: Creative Spaces for Children.

In recent years, my work has focused on the pedagogical environment - such as kindergartens, schools, libraries, and hospitals - with my studio being involved in a number of challenging and rewarding educational projects which provided social value to the community; highlighting our responsibility as designers.
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For example, we took part in the design of Hayarden Elementary School for children of refugees, located in the south of Tel Aviv, and the design of the Arabic Tamra Elementary School, located in a low socio-economic area where there is a shortage of play and study opportunities for children. In addition, a very challenging project was the design of Bikurim Inclusive School - the first inclusive school in Tel Aviv. In this flagship project we designed a new learning environment which supports the inclusive philosophy, celebrating the diversity of students since in this school, 25% of the children cope with special needs.
Soft Landscape is on display at Design Museum Holon until June 1st 2021.


Photography: Roni Cnaani
Museum (pictured below): Design Museum Holon
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