Bienvenue to perceive nature and culture in unexpected way
During my study period as well as the currently profession in graphic design, I realized that the main inspiration of my work which comes from the nature. I couldn’t really perceive nature in my childhood, because I grew up in Shanghai (China) which a huge and modern city is becoming a centered metropolis. After I moved to Zürich (Switzerland), I had to learn to respect nature and tried to understand nature. My profound experience shows that nature is not really close to the people as it used to because of more growing cities. Therefore, I deeply feel that people need to be aware and rethink the relationship between them and nature.
A good example are these cards named «Origins». They look like bizarre creatures from science fiction or maybe at first sight like the image of a deep sea. But the truth is these are seeds, which are showing intricate beauty and unique shape under the microscope. The riddle of each seed will be revealed when people turn the card over. The names of the seeds help people to know where these incredible plants come from.
‘The world’s largest power is the seed of plant. The power of a seed goes simply beyond anything.’ — Xia Yan (1900–1995), Chinese playwright
Looking at the booklet «Origins of Form» followed the cards, people can discover an important study behind the seeds that they are not only the foodstuffs of animals, but also to shape the survival of the finches on the Galápagos Islands. According to Darwinian’s theory, his discovery gives the statement which is still relevant in today’s context: It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.
The same story behind of «Origins», each Bienvenue Publishing’s work aims to bringing people closer to nature and culture by an unexpected perspective. Oliver and I founded ‘Bienvenue Publishing’ together in 2011 at Zürich. Comes from our different geographical background-Asian and European, we have different understanding and view of the world. We are together for the aspiration of searching for unknown shapes in nature and culture thus to find the beauty in quiet and forgotten things. By using our visual language, we translated historical topics in a poetic and visual way into today’s context.
The eagerness to experiment and precise craftsmanship set our work apart. In a time consuming process, we push the boundaries of risography print technique, which are usual results in a coarse print. Found of this special process, each print is one of a kind with a natural haptic. There are no any chemicals are used and without heat applied in the printing. The output is not only the result of careful craftsmanship, but also with its environmentally sustainable. With the utmost care, we manually produce items which are for one of a kind: booklets, notebooks, cards and prints in limited edition.
Discover more stories: www.bienvenuepublishing.ch
