GOBI ATLAS
by Talking Hands
“Every fabric carries its own grammar, its own way of saying ‘I’ in the world.
Our work isn't to translate one language into another, but to let them contaminate each other until they say something neither could say alone.”
Two Gobis, two geographies of cloth. Talking Hands brings technical outerwear into dialogue with intangible cultural heritage. The black Gobi combines Ghanaian Kente with Dutch and Ivorian wax print, tracing connections across Africa, Europe and Asia. The ivory Gobi explores the traditional indigo techniques of Fujian, China, through hand-drawn motifs, resist dyeing and zārǎn. Together, the two pieces celebrate cultural exchange, craftsmanship and traditions that remain deeply connected to their places of origin.
Fabrizio Urettini is the founder and artistic director of Talking Hands ( @talkinghands17 ), a design and social innovation workshop based in Treviso, Italy. Founded in 2016, Talking Hands brings together designers, craftspeople, refugees and asylum seekers through co-design and a transcultural approach to material culture. Its work has gained international recognition for exploring social design through collaboration, cultural exchange and post-colonial perspectives.
