Creative Minds

Creative Mind: Fernando Laposse

The Mexican designer makes a positive social and environmental impact with his London-based practice

March 12, 2021

Man in orange outfit standing among large pink furry creatures in an industrial room. — Fernando Laposse with a gang of his sisal creatures from Pink Beasts. Photo: Pepe Molina

Mexican designer Fernando Laposse aims to make a positive social and environmental impact with his London-based practice, which produces kicky design pieces and irreverent works of art from the humblest of materials. Take, for instance, his Totomoxtle veneer, a sustainable type of marquetry created using the discarded husks of heirloom corn. “Totomoxtle is about protecting and preserving our ancestral grains and fostering economic stability for the indigenous communities that are the last guardians of these agricultural traditions,” he says.

Man crafting with dried leaves at workbench in workshop, using hammer and punch on natural material. — Fernando doing marquetry Photo: Courtesy of Fernando Laposse

Source material: Laposse has conjured eco-friendly furnishings from loofah as well. Sisal, which comes from the agave plant, also figures into his work, most notably Pink Beasts, which he created with Angela Damman for 2019’s Design Miami/. “I believe reactivating plant-based industries that were the norm a century ago is the way forward,” he adds.

Wooden chair on a wooden floor against a geometric-patterned wall with shades of red, brown, and cream. — His Totomoxtle veneer panels applied to a wall. Photo: Fernando Laposse

Three eco-friendly loofah-covered containers with cork lids and wooden spoons on a light surface. — Lufa series. Photo: Courtesy of Fernando Laposse

“Pink Beasts are about creating a joyful experience to engage the widest audience possible. But behind these fluffy characters there is a powerful story as they are made with Sisal, a fibre made with agave leaves which used to be widely used before the invention of plastics.”

Fernando Laposse

Fluffy creature in a hat facing mountains and trees under a cloudy sky — Sisal monster Tona. Photo: Courtesy of Fernando Laposse

Person carrying a tall stack of bundled sisal drying mats standing against a muted green wall on a cobbled street. — Lufa series. Photo: Courtesy of Fernando Laposse

Up next: On the horizon is a group exhibition at the Tripostal arts center in Lille, France. “My installation will deal with the history of cochineal, the red dye that is created by crushing small bugs called cochineals, which grow on the prickly pear cactus.”