Foghile | Scenari Nuragici, Objects For New Rituals

Courtesy Alessia Pinna

Foghile | Scenari Nuragici is a collection of objects designed by Alessia Pinna, a product designer born and raised on a small island in Sardinia. With an education spanning Florence, Milan, and Barcelona and work experience in Berlin, Alessia is fascinated by everyday objects and the way they influence our lives. Through her practice, she aims to harness their functional and communicative potential to address issues and open up a dialogue. Foghile, for example, was inspired by two observations made by the designer: first, that in today’s fast-paced world, the demands of work and personal commitments often prevent us from creating and maintaining daily rituals to share with others, even those we live with. The second is the desire to rediscover one’s roots, history, and traditions.

Foghile draws inspiration from the ancient Nuragic population of Sardinia and proposes the recovery of some values such as sharing through the use of objects and new gestures that necessarily put us in relationship with other people. The result is a collection of three table objects, Cumbira, Bordiri and Innantis, which encourage slowness, rituality, and interaction through sharing and offering food. The use of objects is intended to make us reflect on the spontaneous we perform daily, such as pouring water or sharing bread. The designer seeks to encourage users to view the details of everyday life with fresh eyes and experience them as new opportunities for exchange.

The Foghile objects were created in collaboration with various Sardinian artisans: Walter Usai, Alessandra Floris, Roberto Pani, and Salvatore Pinna. Going into the details of the collection we can find:

• Cumbira, which means to share in the Sardinian language, is a jug with a particular shape that imposes the user to pour the drink into two glasses at the same time. This gestures reflects the necessity of seeing ourselves in relation to others, reminding us that we share the same needs and helping maintain a connection between people, even in silence, as they sit at the same table.

• Innantis, forward in the Sardinian language, is inspired by the offering bronzes, particular votive bronzes that were represented with arms outstretched and a gift in their hands. These gifts were donated to thank the ancestors for what they had built over time and in general as a good omen for the future.

• Bodiri, which means to collect in Sardinian, functions as bread container and also allows it to be broken and shared: the bread can be divided by hand by pressing on the wooden lid. According to past belief, bread should never be cut with a knife but always broken by hands, otherwise, it was believed to bring unluck to the family. In Sardinia, carasau bread has ancient origins and due to its shape and consistency it’s still being broken by hands.

  
  

Alessia Pinna drew inspiration from her origins to design a collection of objects with contemporary yet strongly symbolic functionality and aesthetics. For more information or to purchase a piece from the collection, visit Foghile | Scenari Nuragici and don’t forget to follow the designer on Instagram!