Skins of nature wall art

Skins of Nature is a suspended artistic installation presenting a map of the Amazon constructed from natural biomaterials and organic surfaces.

The work emerges from the relationship between memory, territory, and materiality. Born in the Amazon, artist and architect Teka Mesquita brings to the Milan Design Week a reflection on the skin of the forest—its surfaces, scars, and its capacity for regeneration.

The Amazon map is composed of pirarucu leather and plant-based biomaterials, including BeLeaf vegetal leather and membrane, mycelium biomaterial with moss, residues of recyclable synthetic foam, natural pigments, and water-based binders. All elements are manually applied and stitched onto a lightweight bamboo structure. The rivers appear sewn in red, symbolizing territories that bleed under contemporary environmental pressures.

Organic elements such as mushrooms and biomaterials appear in regions that reflect the highest levels of degradation in the Amazon, suggesting natural processes of regeneration. Their silent presence symbolizes the resilience of the forest and the extraordinary capacity of ecosystems to renew themselves.

More than representing the Amazon, the work proposes a dialogue between nature and industry, craft tradition and material innovation, contemporary design and environmental awareness.