EXODUS
Bolon and JoAnn Tan,
2025
Parallel paths converge to shape stories in space.
Presented during Milan Design Week 2025, Exodus marks the first collaboration between Bolon and designer JoAnn Tan. Set within a historic Milanese textile factory adorned with frescoes and an orangerie, the immersive installation transforms woven flooring into narrative architecture. Space becomes scenography, where material surfaces evolve into sculptural landscapes shaped by imagination and craftsmanship.
On one side of the installation, a primordial forest emerges, with Bolon’s flooring rising into organic, creature-like formations that appear to inhabit the environment. These textured volumes invade walls and floors, blurring the boundary between object and architecture. Opposite this terrain, a luminous and dreamlike world unfolds, animated by suspended flamingoes that introduce lightness, color, and a sense of theatrical suspension within the historic setting.
At the center of the courtyard pond, a hybrid figure unites both realms, embodying transformation and creative synthesis. This symbolic presence mediates between nature and fantasy, grounding the installation’s dual narrative. The reflective water amplifies the dialogue between solidity and fluidity, while the architectural backdrop reinforces the contrast between heritage and contemporary expression, creating a layered and emotionally resonant spatial experience.
Exodus reflects JoAnn Tan’s background in fashion and scenography, where texture, color, and proportion function as storytelling tools. Paired with Bolon’s commitment to material innovation, the project reveals how woven flooring can transcend function to become expressive medium. Through immersive composition, Exodus bridges craft and imagination, demonstrating how contemporary design can connect nature, fantasy, and cultural memory within a singular, transformative environment.
