Madreterra. Benefitting Flood Victims in Sardinia

i. I. (April 30, 2014)

Leucos’ iconic Great JJ light has been jet-setting around the world as part of the brand’s Madreterra project. A collaboration between Leucos and Architect Flavio Manzoni (from January 2010 he entered in Ferrari as design director), the project will benefit those affected by a flood which occurred in Manzoni’s native Sardinia this past November. After making an appearance at a Madreterra event in Milan, it is ready to make its mark on the Big Apple

To raise funds for the victims, Flavio Manzoni from Nuoro (Italian architect and automobile designer of supercars and everyday vehicles, such as Ferrari [2], Lancia [3], Volkswagen [4], SEAT [5].) has adorned the oversized light’s surface with his vibrant sketches, creating a one-of-a-kind design, which will be auctioned off this summer in Italy.

After making an appearance at a Madreterra event in Milan, it is ready to make its mark on the Big Apple, where Manzoni will officially present it at an event at the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA) on May 1.

Reimagined and reintroduced by Centro Stile design for Leucos, the Great JJ is the oversized version of the 1937 Jac Jacobsen table light with swinging arm.

The Madreterra initiative is Manzoni’s personal tribute to his country.

Leucos has donated three lights over its duration. The funds obtained by their auction will go toward the reconstruction of the Maria Rocca primary school in Su Papiru, Sardinia.

The Great JJ was also tied to a charitable endeavor last year called Light Your Heart when several designer iterations of the light, including Manzoni’s first take on the design, were auctioned off to raise money for pediatric Neoplasia research. Other luminaries who contributed to Light Your Heart by customizing Great JJs included Arik Levy, Patrick Jouin, Karim Rashid, Satoshi Umeno, Chris Bangle, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Jozeph Forakis, Valerio Cometti and Roberto Paoli.

MADRETERRA-The Project

Italian for “mother earth,” the name of the project exemplifies the deep bond, ancient and ancestral, that links us to our native regions.

Flavio Manzoni’s distinctive drawings represent thoughts, memories and reflections morphed into images, illustrating the sometimes unexpected volatility of nature and how it affects humankind. Etched onto the light are archetypes of an ancestral culture, which symbolizes the hope of light and recovery.

It represents light in all its forms: light after darkness, love for life, and love for the land. The Italian romance of M.Grazia Deledda Nobel Prize in 1917 "Canne al Vento”(“Reeds in the Wind"), becomes a metaphor that sums up the light’s message of resilience. Reeds are humans. Wind is the fate that bends, crashes or curves reeds so that they can grow stronger.