As part of Ljubljana Design Biennial 2017 (Farawaysoclose – Bio25, curated by Angela Rui and Maja Vardjan, MAO Museum), Odo Fioravanti teamed with sea kayaker Marin Medak and with Bolleria Industrial, Luca Fattore, Juan Nicolas Paéz, Fabio Petronilli and Elisa Testori to research contemporary migration. If literature closes a hero's journey with homecoming, today's journey is often a straight line with no home left to return to. Since 2015, over a million migrants have reached EU shores. The team addressed this in the European and Mediterranean context, asking what design can contribute without the involvement of politics or economics: if spears and shields defined ancient heroes, what objects testify to the bravery of migrants today? Hephaestus presents five symbolic "spears" – non-functional objects styled as industrial products, but hand-made by Fioravanti himself, the production itself a form of meditation on the theme.

The Propeller, fusing an immersion blender and an outboard motor, symbolizes the need to cross the sea. The Forecaster, combining a thermometer, a horsehair barometer and an anemometer, answers the constant risk of adverse weather. The Connector, a tribal yet high-tech tangle of antennas, reflects migrants' reliance on phones and connectivity. The Carrier, a wheeled stick fitted with a bag, recalls the few precious things people carry when fleeing. The Feeder, a simple distiller producing clean water from seawater, addresses the ongoing risk of dying of thirst.

Still life photo credits: Leo Torri
Frames from the video by Fabio Petronilli