OBJ-10 Cabinet
By Manu Bañó
Year: 2024 Commissioned by COLLECTIONAL For the exhibition Unearthing: The Alchemy of Mexican Metalwork
The OBJ-10 Cabinet by Manu Bañó, presented as part of Unearthing: The Alchemy of Mexican Metalwork at Gallery COLLECTIONAL in Dubai, is a commissioned piece that exemplifies the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design.
Created in collaboration with Mexican artisans from regions such as Michoacán and Santa Clara del Cobre, this work captures the essence of copper as both a raw material and a vessel of cultural expression, perfectly echoing the exhibition’s theme of honoring Mexico’s metalworking heritage.
Its exterior retains the raw, fire-marked finish of hand-worked copper, holding onto the story of its making, while the interior reveals a mirror-polished surface, pure, reflective, and refined. This stark contrast embodies the duality central to Bañó’s practice: precision versus spontaneity, control versus chance, rawness versus refinement.
The piece embraces imperfection as an integral part of its transformation. Every texture and trace left by the artisan’s hand is preserved, reinforcing the narrative that craft is not only technique, but time, process, and memory.
Within the context of Unearthing, OBJ-10 stands as a contemporary artifact, bridging centuries-old traditions with a vision for collectible design that is sculptural, functional, and deeply symbolic.