The Belgian interior designer presented her collection in New York, exploring themes of identity and cultural appropriation.
Belgian-Congolese designer Kim Mupungilaï explores the duality of identity in her first full furniture collection, by blending African shapes and materials with European tradition.“I just started thinking about my own cultural landscape and background and upbringing and wanted to dig deeper,” Kim explained what inspired her during the design process and how she tries to show two different cultures in the same object.
In addition to her own personal history, the issue of cultural appropriation, which has been central to the overall social and artistic discourse in recent years, also plays an important role in the project. “I mean, you can be inspired by culture, but when you start literally extracting things from a culture without crediting or acknowledging their arts, their culture or traditions, it becomes cultural appropriation, so there's a very fine line,” she continued.
Photo: Luis Corzo
Source: Dezeen