formafantasma examines sheep's layered influence on human history at stedelijk museum

Stedelijk Museum exhibits Formafantasma’s Oltre Terra

From February 15 to July 13, 2025, Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam is hosting Oltre Terra by Italian design studio Formafantasma. The exhibition is based on an ongoing research project delving into the history, ecology, and global dynamics of wool extraction and production, exploring its connection to the biological evolution of sheep. Oltre Terra, curated by Amanda Pinatih, showcases materials, objects, and technologies in a multidisciplinary exhibition design, enhancing the viewer’s experience.

The Italian exhibition title, Oltre Terra, draws from the etymology of ‘transhumance,’ combining the Latin trans (across, ‘oltre’ in Italian) and humus (ground, ‘terra’ in Italian). Transhumance describes the seasonal movement of livestock between grazing areas. Similarly, the idea of ‘crossing grounds’ reflects the exhibition’s transdisciplinary approach, developed through collaborations with designers, artists, anthropologists, evolutionists, legal experts, curators, shepherds, and farmers. While domestication has contributed to sheep’s evolution, these animals have, in turn, played a crucial role in human history through the production of wool—blurring the line between tamer and tamed. The exhibition explores the layered connections between humans and sheep, addressing the economic and ethical implications of extracting materials from living creatures.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis – all images courtesy of Formafantasma and Stedelijk Museum

Oltre Terra reinterprets natural history museums’ settings

For the setting of Oltre Terra, research-based design studio Formafantasma reinterprets the traditional diorama, commonly used in natural history museums to depict static scenes from nature. Expanding on this concept, the exhibition features seven life-size reproductions of various sheep breeds, including the Dutch Drents Heideschaap, alongside documents, films, byproducts from production processes, and various types of organic matter. By integrating materials, techniques, and representations of living beings, the exhibition challenges conventional boundaries between humans and animals, as well as between products and biological matter. Extensive captions by philosopher Emanuele Coccia provide context, interpreting the interconnectedness of these elements.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

transdisciplinary works by artists, evolutionists, shepherds

A central element of the exhibition is ‘Tactile Afferents,’ a video created by artist Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma, co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet and Fondazione In Between Art Film. The film explores co-domestication through the sense of touch, presenting it as both a tender expression of interspecies connection and a form of control.

Oltre Terra by Formafantasma also includes a woolen carpet by cc-tapis, woven from four different wool fibers sourced from twelve Italian ‘rustic’ sheep breeds. These coarser fibers, often discarded as low-grade material, are repurposed for applications beyond direct skin contact. Additionally, recycled wool bales by Manteco are integrated into the exhibition’s design. A catalog published by Walther König and designed by Studio Joost Grootens accompanies the exhibition.

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

Joanna Piotrowska and Formafantasma, Tactile Afferents, 2022, Video still – Commissioned and co-produced by Nasjonalmuseet, co-produced by Fondazione In Between Art Film, creative producer Alessandro Rabottini © Joanna Piotrowska, Fondazione In Between Art Film, Formafantasma

Formafantasma – Oltre Terra | image by Peter Tijhuis

William Henry Davis, Mr Healey’s Sheep, 1838 – Collection Lincolnshire County Council: Museum of Lincolnshire Life

Formafantasma, seasonal transhumance from Austria to Italy, 2022, Val Senales, South Tyrol, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Alessandro Celli

Formafantasma, seasonal transhumance, 2022, Alagna Valsesia, Piedmont, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Gregorio Gonella

Formafantasma, manual selection of woolen rags at Francioni, 2022, Prato, Italy © Formafantasma | image by Alessandro Celli

Iron sheep bell with leather collar – Collection Dutch Open Air Museum

Steel sheep scissors – Collection Dutch Open Air Museum

project info: 

name: Oltre Terra

artist: Formafantasma | @formafantasma

concept, design: Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin

Formafantasma team: Sara Barilli, Alessandro Celli, Gregorio Gonella, Hannah Segerkrantz
exhibition curator: Hanne Eide
carpet production: cc-tapis
wool bales production: Manteco
extensive captions: Emanuele Coccia
video ‘A Fala Das Cabras E Dos Pastores’: Alexandre Delmar

host: Stedelijk Museum | @stedelijkmuseum

dates: February 15, 2025  –  July 13, 2025

tactile afferents credits:
video production: Fondazione In Between Art Film (creative producer: Alessandro Rabottini), Nasjonalmuseet
authors: Joanna Piotrowska, Formafantasma

photography: Peter Tijhuis, Alessandro Celli, Gregorio Gonella, Ina Wesenberg

oltre terra collaborators: Annamaria Ajmone, Donatella Basla, Badger Bates, Luca Battaglini, Cristina Benaglia, Letizia Bindi, cc-tapis, Hamish Chandler, Elena Ciani, CNR Biella, CNR Lodi, Emanuele Coccia, Alexandre Delmar, Vinciane Despret, Claudia Gonzalez Viejo Duran, Ecomuseo della Pastorizia, Silvana Fiorese, Fondazione Zegna, Margarita Gleba, Tim Ingold, Anna Kauber, Lottozero, Manteco, Stefano Martini, Antonio Mauro, Ewan McEoin, Michel Meuret, Jenny Morton, MUSE Trento, Marco Paganoni, Joanna Piotrowska, Bruno Plati, Alessandro Rabottini, Lucio Rossi, Miriam Rubeis, Marcelo R. Sánchez-Villagra, Nicolo Terraneo, Cinzia Tonetti, Federica Turri, Kari Weil, Tim White

catalogue design: Studio Joost Grootens
catalogue publisher: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König