Victoria Yakusha's commitment to promoting Ukrainian craftsmanship

Over the past ten years, Victoria Yakusha has made her the mission of promoting Ukrainian cultural heritage, dedicating herself to spreading the craft techniques of local communities , developing a sustainable approach to design, emphasizing the link with its roots . In addition to her activity as a designer, she organizes cultural trips for design professionals (designers, architects, journalists, critics) to discover Ukraine with the aim of enhancing artisans present on the territory.

And it is precisely to them, to the people who still - with commitment and passion - engage in centuries-old traditions of Ukrainian "knowing how to do with your hands", which the T12 association Lab wants to dedicate this exhibition.

Faina's primordial and ancestral design

Since 2014, the Ukrainian design brand Faina created by Victoria Yakusha has stood out for its raw and authentic material features, with a primordial, spiritual and ancestral impact. The philosophy of the brand is clearly centered on bond with the land and on references to ethnic roots, as well as on the transmission of the Ukrainian cultural heritage expressed through collections of lights and contemporary furnishings with organic shapes and raw textures.

The black earth

On the occasion of FuoriSalone 2022, the spaces of the T12 Lab association welcome the Chornozem exhibition (black earth , in the Ukrainian language), where all the design pieces handmade by Ukrainian craftsmen are black , referring to Ukrainian soil.

The Tree of Life...

The central piece of the exhibition is a hand-woven tapestry, made with the ancient wool weaving technique called lizhnykarstvo, to represent the Tree of Life. Its rough and loose seams are reminiscent of light and crumbly earth.

... and Mother Earth

Reminiscent of an ancient ceramic sculpture of the Trypillian Venus, the Domna armchair stands out for its sinuous feminine shapes. She presents herself as an incarnation of Mother Earth who gives life and protects her.

Organic and animist forms

Also on display are the animist floor lamps Soniah (sunflower, in the Ukrainian language), one of the symbols of Ukrainian soil. The organic and primitive forms are hand-sculpted in the sustainable material Ztista, the brand's signature.