Formafantasma: Why Wool Matters Book

A cultural, aesthetic and biological history of wool, from ancient extraction methods to contemporary textile design

In this volume, the Milan-based multidisciplinary design studio Formafantasma investigates the history, ecology and global dynamics of the extraction and production of wool. A wide range of artworks, agricultural and cultural objects, photographs, videos and other materials demonstrate how wool is more than simply a raw material for the design and textile industries. The book accompanies an exhibition of the same name, Oltre Terra, which reimagines the display mode of the diorama. Rather than representing a static scene from nature, here it becomes an installation containing six life-size reproductions of different sheep breeds, a carpet made from discarded wool fibers, as well as documents, films, by-products of manufacturing processes and various types of organic matter. All these elements are presented side by side to counteract persisting categorizations that separate human from animal and product from biological matter.