Close

Les Fleurs de la Maladie: Art installation from recycled COVID-19 Tests

The installation provokes a personal and emotional engagement with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

Subset introduced its Les Fleurs de la Maladie art installation, winner of the Jury Prize at the 17th Festival des Architectures Vives in Montpellier, France.

As an interpretation of the festival theme of ‘Sacrality’, Hannah Fuchsenberger, Anne-Fleur Ising, Atidh Jonas Langbein, Gianna Neumann, and Helio Philipp Spiess conceived an installation that provokes a personal and emotional engagement with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic through an aesthetic experience. Like white flowers, 1,482 COVID-19 test cassettes float above a blue platform. Les Fleurs de la Maladie – Flowers of the Disease – asks what value we attribute to our own and public health in general. The installation was constructed mainly from scrap material in a representative courtyard in Montepellier’s historic centre. Twelve Eiermann table tops, which would have been discarded at the Bauhaus University Weimar due to heavy wear and tear, were manually sanded, repainted, and screwed onto a substructure of wooden slats in the courtyard. 1,482 corona tests were applied to the panels on 1mm metal rods in a clear geometric grid. They were donated by a school in Munich that had purchased them for testing pupils, but they expired before their planned use and would have been subsequently disposed.

By redesigning and reusing the materials, the installation ‘Les Fleurs de la Maladie’ thematizes  environmentally conscious and sustainable approaches in the arts, while opening up this kind of space for wide-ranging interpretations and to encourage viewers to reflect on the value of health in our society. The flowers further invited visitors to share their personal memories and experiences of the pandemic.

Read more article like this, click here.

The Latest
Crate & Barrel x Jake Arnold The Hartford 90 Wood Outdoor Sofa by Jake Arnold

Conscious design, textural sophistication, and seasonal comfort: What Crate & Barrel brings to the GCC with New Stores and Collection

With fresh openings in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Crate & Barrel unveils a Fall/Winter collection that blends tactile design, sustainability, and exclusive collaborations, bringing global style closer to regional homes.

Surface Appeal

Global surfaces leader Cosentino launches four new quartzite options in the Sensa range

Dubai Design Week 2025

Dubai Design Week 2025 reveals an exciting 11th edition programme

Taking place from 4-9 November 2025, Dubai Design Week this year centres around community.

Rooted in Stillness

Casa Tranquilo by DADO offers an immersive retreat into nature

Treetop Sanctuary

The Ritz-Carlton’s intimate treetop retreat offers a rare invitation to connect deeply with nature and culture

Desert Counterpoint

In Summerlin, Nevada, Faulkner Architects and Concept Lighting Lab have revealed a desert home that withstands extremities

On Building to Last

We interview selected architects and interior designers to talk about balancing permanence and progress across their projects

The Culture of Quality

A conversation with Maryam Raeisi, Managing Director of HMA Living by Al Shamsi

What to expect at Feria Habitat Valencia

This year’s fair is set to take place between 29 September and 2 October

ARTDOM Expands to the Middle East

Daria Zolotova, founder of ARTDOM, discusses the brand’s upcoming first major art forum congress, being held at Riyadh on 11-12 November 2025

A Perfect Balance

A bespoke villa in Dubai Hills Grove designed by XBD Collective blends contemporary elegance with high-end craftsmanship

Soulful Sanctuary

Arch Home Interiors has crafted a boutique Pilates studio in Dubai Design District, creating an environment where movement meets self-care