Cities - Babylon Pot - / Mahogany carving - Hand-made by Ethnicraft Natural wood

Lebanese designer Carlo Massoud lives and works in Beirut. The 30-something has become one of the representatives of this generation of creators who’ve risen from the ruins of the civil war. There’s a "social message" in the work of Carlo Massoud, like a desire to shake up our conscience. The designer enjoys working with material to question the world around us. Carlo Massoud loves material more than the object. When he isn’t working with an alloy of copper and zinc, he experiments with bronze, wood, or even explores ceramics. All in collaboration with a range of craftsmen who pass on their knowledge of materials to him. "I’ve always rejected machines, I love hand-made and that beautiful imperfection that characterises it", he concedes. Carlo Massoud's work has been exhibited at numerous festivals and design fairs around the world, including the Factum Gallery (Beirut, 2014), the Carwan Gallery (Beirut Design Week, 2014), the Southern Guild (Cape Town, 2015), The Armory Show (New York, 2015) and the Skoufa Gallery (Mykonos, 2015). The Cities collection is a series of micro-architecture inspired by Carlo Massoud's travels around the world. Each of these pieces offers a reinterpretation of a famous site: a building loaded with historical, architectural or cultural depth. The Babylon model is inspired by the Tower of Babel, at the centre of the myth which explains the multiplicity of languages. A sculpture loaded with meaning that can also serve as a small container. The artist's creativity is brought to life by the master craftsmen of the Ethnicraft carpentry and woodcarving workshop.