Oxilla Gallery

Butter Brutalism brings together objects from MANU’s Folded Plastic series, presented on brutalist blocks made of reclaimed styrofoam. Rigid in form yet light in substance, the structures echo brutalist architecture — but in an unexpectedly buttery yellow palette.

MANU invites visitors into a world where care and constraint shape both objects and the spaces they inhabit. The installation reflects the studio’s design philosophy: to create with less, and to make objects that carry emotional weight without material excess.

Where Brutalism traditionally evokes power and permanence,” says MANU, “we’re more interested in inviting the viewer to look again — and to question what things are really made of.

Visitors are encouraged to take a closer look — not just at the form, but at the materiality. What seems heavy is actually weightless. What looks like paper is folded plastic. What resembles concrete or folded paper is, in fact, reclaimed PET or styrofoam — reworked into something lasting and considered. The materials are familiar, but not in the ways you expect.

Each object on display is made from recycled PET waste and produced in Sweden using a distributed, local manufacturing model. By working exclusively with reused, recycled, and upcycled materials, MANU reduces waste, emissions, and overproduction — crafting objects with both soul and responsibility.