The human stroked the cat’s back.
«Well, cat, we did it», he said, sighing.
Zorba seemed to reflect for a moment.
«Yes. At the edge of the void she understood the most important thing of all», Zorba said.
«Oh yes? And what was that?» the human asked.
«That only those who dare may fly»
(Luis Sepúlveda Story of a Seagull and the Cat who taught her to fly)
Like the seagull who learnt to fly, we too can choose to dare and spread our wings leaving out of the comfort zone. This is one of the messages that the architect Simone Micheli wanted to communicate through the installation “Free.dom”.
Free.dom by Simone Micheli: what was it?
It was a museum-oriented installation for the contract market in which freedom and the power of making decisions played an important role. They reminded us that we are what we choose to be.
Free.dom was created and designed by Simone Micheli for the exhibition “Interni Design Re-evolution” curated by Interni Magazine for the Fuorisalone 2023. The event took place in Milan last April.
Located in the splendid and suggestive setting of the “Cortile dei Bagni” at the “Università degli Studi di Milano Statale”, Free.dom plunged the visitors inside a parallel universe where innovation, experience and poetry merged.
Free.dom: 3×3
Three birds, three cages, three different choices to make that lead to three different paths.
One of the birds chose to remain inside the cage, safe and protected, but at the same time trapped and deprived of its freedom, unable to take flight.
The other one was hanging in the balance with its head sticked out of the cage. It seemed to address to the visitor a very well known dilemma: to be or not to be, to leave or to come back, to fly or to stay?
The last bird left the cage and spread its wings into the unknown. That is exactly the kind of jump to be scared of, but which allows you to see the world on the horizon, where infinite possibilities lie.
Free.dom by Simone Micheli and decision making
Simone Micheli was able to portrait with great mastery this very deep metaphor of life. In fact, each individual, like a bird, sooner or later has to face decisions which will bring him to stay at a status quo or to transform, leading towards new perspectives:
[…] only those who desire and decide for real to leave the stereotyped paths, the system’s crisis, the content deadlocks, the banality and the conservatism: they can do it! The others, even if they have the ability to fly, to free themselves and to grow, prefer to be on static hold (Simone Micheli)
It looks like a challenging thought that leads the visitor to reflect on his condition as a human being, searching for his choices until reaching one simple question: “Which bird am I and which one do I want to be?”
In search of new worlds
27 display cases were placed along the portico that surrounds the internal courtyard of the “Cortile dei Bagni”. Each of them exhibited one different element, which seemed to represent 27 different worlds to explore.
It is among these 27 new worlds, designed by Simone Micheli, that peeked out our world as well, thanks to the Step Ahead chair.
A pure and airy seating with soft and sinous forms, dressed in new colours for this event. The fabrics were supplied by Alessandro Bini.
Good things come in threes
This was the third time we participated in the Fuorisalone and it was also the third year of collaboration with the architect Simone Micheli.
It seems yesterday when everything started. As the name of our chair Step Ahead tells us, every year is a step forward, and it becomes a source for growth and inspiration.
We want to thank Simone Micheli and all the people we met during this week of full immersion in the world of national and international design and architecture.
Last but not least, we want to thank all the worlds we discovered, explored and re-discovered as well as the ones that are expecting us.
We choose to dare, and you? Which bird do you choose to be?
See you soon with other news!
