Simone Bonanni sculpts spaces with wallpaper collection Second Life for LondonArt

“Second Life” is the paradox: a three-dimensional motif generates an inaccessible space on the wall which should instead delimit it. A physical obstacle is transformed into an imaginary opening through a portal, an escape to a new world.

You can faintly glimpse a panorama in the distance, an uninhabited, bare place, devoid of traces of life, which must be (re) conquered. Where everything has yet to be still invented, our second chance.

Second Life is a printed decoration for interior coverings that offers an alternative to the usual repeated vertical crop. From this, the idea of a versatile cladding that can work both in environments with small surfaces and adapt perfectly to create large compositions, leaving to the final customer the choice of the ideal cut, cropped from a motif originally designed in large dimensions.

In the case of small walls, the result is a geometric patchwork of material shapes, refined and essential; as the size of the available wall increases, you begin to perceive a strong sense of depth and space.

Designer Simone Bonanni comments on the Second Life collection: “Living space is that free void between physical objects. Objects, in turn, give it a precise shape. This empty volume is the place where everything happens, it is the air we breathe, the stage of life. Its shape is crucial. For this reason, I prefer to design furniture that can shape our existence with their presence and that represent and define valuable places, real or imaginary.

When LondonArt asked me to work on the new 2021 collection, I wanted to create two motifs that represented new imaginary spaces beyond the wall, the perception of a larger space to contemplate, a possible escape. For me, it was essential to design a wallpaper that dialogues with the interiors and that could penetrate the wall, going beyond the idea of a typical two-dimensional decoration.”

Curious to know more about the designer? Don’t miss Are objects really functional without an emotional purpose? Interview with Simone Bonanni.

The Exclusive Wallpaper collection 21 by LondonArt

The collection stands out for its eclectic, ornamental character expressed through a distinct compositional balance, stylistic combinations, and completely different textures that share a common inspiration on forms and perspective. The new subjects in the collection conform to the evolution of contemporary living, introducing unprecedented decorative possibilities.

Designed as truly fascinating backgrounds at a domestic scale, this year’s wallpapers are a whirlwind of dreamlike representations, tassels, fringes, nature-inspired patterns, oneiric interpretations of landscapes and architecture, nuances and volumes that can revolutionise space in the name of colour. Symbol and expression of daily living, the proposed solutions glide like dresses through furniture and accessories, reiterating the strong link that unites design and fashion, as well as the one that underpins the eternal relationship with art.

This is why urgent geometries play a leading role, vibrant on the chromatic contrast alongside more poetic representations of floral bouquets and bucolic shades. In a rich catalogue that, by imaginative means, renders the materiality of wallpaper into form, the subversive language of décor is expressed through a project that becomes the garment of the home.

The collection emanates energy, halfway between style, movement, and attitude, in which opulent and sumptuous subjects are damped by more minimal and contemporary aspects, resulting in a delicate and harmonious blend. The company’s design challenge was to promote the style and graphic signature of each designer.

Info on the location of the exhibitions

In Milan, the exhibition goes on from the 5th – 10th September at the LondonArt Showroom located at Piazza San Marco 4, 20121, Milan
in the Brera Design District.

In Paris, the exhibition will be held from the 9th – 13th September at
M&O in the LondonArt booth located in Hall 6 Stand I8-J7.

Find out more about Milan Design Week 2021, don’t miss Superstudio doubles at Milan Design Week 2021 with Superdesign Show and Superstudio Maxi.