Congratulations to Catalina Quirós, winner of the Maison/0 This Earth Award. Her work, ‘Pelo por Pelo, Thread by Thread, The Hyphae’, explores the non-linear patterns of mycelium and hyphae as they expand beneath the soil, supporting themselves and neighbouring organisms. The work also reflects on memory, ecology and connection, considering trees and humans as embodied archives shaped by what they have witnessed and held over time.
Maison/0 is the Central Saint Martins and LVMH creative platform for regenerative luxury. The partnership is committed to leveraging the agency of creativity and education to help regenerate our climate and biodiversity, and to empower emerging talents to design a better future. Since the partnership with LVMH was renewed, there is now 1 winner and 1 runner-up from each school.
The prize money is now £5,000 for winners and £1,000 for runners-up.
The judges
The award was judged by Alex Cappelli LVMH Group Environmental Deputy Director, Olympia Mantzourou LVMH Global Academic Relations Director, Juliette Sulmona LVMH Regenerative Agriculture & Biodiversity Analyst, Melanie Keen Ex Director of Welcome Collection and Iniva, Alex Schady Programme Director Art Programme, CSM and Carole ColletDirector Maison/0, CSM.
Now in its sixth year, the Maison/0 This Earth Award works with the CSM Art Programme to celebrate the power of artistic practice to advocate for nature.
"The ‘This Earth’ Maison/0 awards are a testimony of the role of creatives to embrace courageous ideas and original practices in the sustainable landscape. We are delighted that our partner LVMH is so committed to nurture and reward our change-makers." Professor Carole Collet, director Maison/0, CSM.
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Winner of the Maison/0 This Earth Award, Catalina Quirós' work - ‘Pelo por Pelo, Thread by Thread, The Hyphae. Photography by Paul Cochrane.
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Winner of the Maison/0 This Earth Award, Catalina Quirós' work - ‘Pelo por Pelo, Thread by Thread, The Hyphae. Photography by Paul Cochrane.
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The judging process. Photogarphy by Paul Cochrane.
In her own words, Catalina Quirós discussed her work's inception, the materials used and how the reality of climate change was a call to action.
In your own words, describe your work, what motivated it and the concerns it addresses.
‘Pelo por Pelo, Thread by Thread, The Hyphae’. This work reflects an exploration of the patterns, shapes and teachings in the non-linear ways in which the Mycelium and its carrier arms, the Hyphe, expand underneath the soil in order to provide itself and other neighbour organisms with nutrients.
Both trees and humans rely on something so crucial to our existence that exists beyond cognition, which is memory. We are embodied archives of the things we have once witnessed, a shared reserve of our personal and collective experiences, this is what bonds the materials of this work together. As I’m weaving, I’m drawn to find connection to the land, my childhood home, its trees, its horses and their maternal bonds of care.
How does your work address the challenges of the current climate and biodiversity emergency?
Today, our reality presents an alarming state of rupture in the decline of our primal connection, as humans, to the biological, emotional, genetic, and physical connection to the living ecological systems we share this world with. My practice as an artist emerges from the uncertainty that is created as we witness ecosystems collapse, numerous species go extinct, the oceans acidify and rise, increases in temperature, as well as the many other continuous effects of a system that has teared us far apart from ecological compassion and a grounded comprehension of its functionalities.
When finding myself in awareness of the situation humanity has brought to its (our) only home so far, I have come to find balance, purpose and connection in a mode of working that on its development,stands in defence and practices in what lies in the imaginary, in our empathic nature in collectiveness, in appreciation and re-connection of the ancestral ways of managing earth’s materials and the passing and teaching of skills, all things that require both time and care, which is what brings my work together and motivates its existence and its creation.
The weavings that form this work embody the slowing down our current accelerated pace, through bringing back memory and belonging to the land and its organisms through fibres and threads, through the help and support of community and crafters, alternatives to creating and supporting each other when doing so, all of these aspects are fundamental to remind us that we already are a symbiotic being entangled with other symbiotic beings and when creating in consideration of that, we open up spaces for an alternative, caring future.
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Runner-up MA Art and Science, Arash Rafiei's work - ‘Take a bite of me’.
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Runner up, MA Art and Science, Arash Rafiei's work - ‘Take a bite of me’.
Arash Rafiei, MA Art and Science, Runner-up
Further congratulations to runner-up Arash Rafiei, MA Art and Science, for ‘Take a bite of me’, made from reclaimed industrial steel, the work takes the form of a long suspended spiral with mirrors at the top and bottom, reflecting on material memory, energy and what it means to care for something considered spent. Through fibre, steel, memory and acts of care, both works speak to slower forms of making and our relationship with the living systems we are part of.
The work explores humanity's relationship with gravity through a suspended sculpture made from reclaimed industrial steel. After restoring a discarded steel spiral, the artist presents it between two mirrors to create the illusion of an infinite form, while inviting viewers to interact with the work by puncturing its surface, triggering resonant sound through mounted transducers.
By giving new life to discarded material, the work highlights the hidden energy and history embedded within industrial waste, challenging throwaway culture and encouraging reflection on care, sustainability and the enduring life cycle of materials.