Work: Paradise Tree

Design object

Paradise-tree

Original

Space
Design
Designer
Oiva Toikka
Company
Magis
Date
2009
Period
Contemporary
Production
currently in production
Dimensions
189 cm high, 55 cm diameter
Material
polyethylene
Section
play, living
Awards
Magis has won multiple Compasso d'Oro Awards

Photo: Maurizio Bolognini. Museo Tattile Statale Omero Archive.

Description

“Paradise Tree […] It looks like a tree, with several boughs branching off from the trunk which act as the hooks for hanging up coats, jackets or bags. It is divided into six parts that have six different colours and are assembled one on top of the other, like an interlocking tower game for children, where only the base and the top part have fixed positions, while the rest are interchangeable so that at a certain point the branch with the cat can be very, very close to the one with the bird on it. In short, it depends on the idea of ​​Paradise that you want to give to the composition: whether it is a paradise where the bird that can live undisturbed in the tree or a paradise for the cat to enjoy.” Chiara Alessi

Paradise tree is a moulded-polyethylene coat stand with an internal structure and base weight made of cold-galvanized steel. Designed by Oiva Toikka and produced by Magis since 2009, it is inspired by the world of nature. It looks like a tree, 189cm tall, and is made up of stacked, coloured segments, whose order can be changed. Each element has two branches. Each branch features an object that inhabits the world of the garden: leaves, fruit, animals. The colours of the interchangeable segments are yellow, green, blue, white; then there is the base in orange and the top in red.

The project summarizes the objective of Magis, a company that researches products that rethink the horizons of living. Oiva Toikka was a glass artist, very sensitive and capable of giving shape to the themes of nature. He was also a set designer, costume designer and designer of iconic fabrics for the home-furnishing textile company, Marimekko, Finnish like the artist himself. He had the ability to synthesize his thoughts and make them iconic.

 

Paradise Tree – duration: 1:05
Sonic evocation of the object created by Paolo Ferrario