Pigments of wisdom. A space for healing
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Authors
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2025
Typ of student thesis
Master
Course of study
Master of Arts FHNW in Masterstudio Design
Collections
Type
11 - Student thesis
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Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Series
Series number
Volume
Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW
Place of publication / Event location
Basel
Edition
Version
Programming language
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Practice partner / Client
Abstract
"Pigments of Wisdom" is a regenerative performance, a living ritual, and a space for healing. The project challenges cultural norms around beauty, inclusion, and visibility through the lens of pigmentation diversity – focusing in particular on vitiligo and its relationship to stress. The changing appearance of affected skin tells a story of transformation, vulnerability, and identity, rooted in a history over 3,000 years old. Fashion becomes a platform for introspection. It reflects cultural values while creating space for new narratives beyond norms and labels. Visibility is not the end goal but a starting point for deeper engagement with difference and care. This project connects design with everyday rituals: resting, dressing, sensing, breathing. At its center is the V-shaped bed – a stage, a structure, a symbol. Covered in wet-felted wool, it invites physical and emotional alignment. Its geometric form generates clarity, grounding, and silence. Surrounding objects and garments act as tactile anchors: a coat, and oversized knitted sweaters with high protective collars offer warmth, everyday comfort, and a gentle shield around the body. Set along an avenue of birch trees, nature becomes a collaborator – white, contrasting, still. This work does not simply ask what is visible, but how presence can be felt. It invites us to not only show diversity, but to hold it, honor it, and carry it inward.
Keywords
performance, wool
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Event
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Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Review
Open access category
License
Citation
Rüegger, V. (2025). Pigments of wisdom. A space for healing [Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst Basel FHNW]. https://irf.fhnw.ch/handle/11654/53486