In spring 2025, FarmLab hosted a residency with Nalba, the cross-national design duo of Capucine Robert and Lavinia Ghimbasan. Working between France and Romania, the two artists came together in the Vulkanland region to explore bioregional design rooted in place, story, and seasonal rhythms.

Their project, Noir Feu, unfolded as a ritual of care and interdependence. Inspired by the landscape, fire-born craft techniques, and the cultural role of wool, the duo created a symbolic installation using natural materials like clay, wood, wool, and wax. Black Jura wool from FarmLab’s sheep became a central material, culminating in a four-meter wet-felted textile supported by the local association Wollgenuss.

The title refers both to fire—as seen in Yakisugi and Raku techniques—and to the black traces it leaves, evoking transformation and resilience. Through this work, Nalba wove together ecological awareness, ancestral knowledge, and contemporary design as an embodied practice of cultural sustainability.

The project was presented as part of the Land Matter/s exhibition on April 26, 2025 and has been possible thanks to a grant from Culture Moves Europe.

Photo credits: Nalba