Pangea’s Playful Sanctuary at Milan Design Week 2025

In the heart of Milan’s historic University of Milan, where renaissance arches echo centuries of thought and expression, a new kind of dialogue unfolds — one draped in vibrant textiles and carried by the wind. This year’s Milan Design Week (April 7–17, 2025) sees the debut of Oasis of Happiness, a monumental installation by the artistic duo Pangea, composed of Colombine Jubert and Laëtitia Rouget, presented in collaboration with Fidenza Village and curated by Metis PR.

More than an artwork, Oasis of Happiness is a sensory journey and a spatial manifesto—one that reflects Pangea’s ongoing mission to create spaces for joy, emotional connection, and positive projection. Responding to the CRE-ACTION theme of the fair, the piece embodies both “Action”—through its air-driven, ever-moving structure—and “Reaction”—as it contrasts and converses with the solemn architecture of the 16th-century university.

Pangea’s artistic practice is rooted in the idea of projecting a positive future and through their work, they manifest the world they aspire, using textile, symbols, and colours to create immersive spaces that encourage contemplation and optimism. Their installations are conceived as “spaces within spaces,” designed to be safe environments—in other words, they build dreaming spaces.

Oasis of Happiness follows this philosophy, offering visitors a passage through nine symbolic doors. These gates serve as both physical and emotional thresholds, allowing visitors to transition not only from one space to another but also from one state of mind to another. Each metallic structure mirrors the shape of the University of Milan’s 16th-century galleria arches, creating a dialogue between contemporary artistic expression and historical architecture.

The installation draped in floating fabrics, the tubular arches invite visitors to walk through them, passing through openings cut into the fabric. The arches are dressed in floating fabrics, embellished with hand-patched and embroidered symbols, dancing in the breeze, offering a multisensory experience that feels both ritualistic and dreamlike.

The gates spell out the word CONNEXION—a hidden message from the artists on what they believe to be the secret to happiness: human connection. “We want people to feel as though they’re stepping into another emotional state,” the duo says. “The joyful colours, the soft movement of the drapes, and the symbolism aim to guide the visitor to feel deeply—or to choose to walk away. It’s their choice.”

“We are hoping to trigger a ritual feeling when the visitors walk from one gate to another, getting the sensation of stepping in another emotional space. All our installations are immersive, we love to use the sense of space and play with textile, symbols and colour to set a certain energy and awareness,” explains the artists.

“The installation holds the secret key of Happiness (according to us), which is to connect, to bound and share. When the visitor steps into the Oasis of Happiness that is the space we created using these gates and our given environments, we hope will reflect unconsciously on this idea.”

Rooted in Collaboration and Imagination

Pangea is a creative fusion born out of a 15-year friendship. Colombine comes from a fashion background and an enduring love for drawing; Laëtitia is a painter and ceramist with a flair for illustration. Together, their practice blurs boundaries between art, design, and installation. “Pangea is our playground,” they say. “It allows us to explore paths we wouldn’t have dared to take alone.”

Their recent mural at Paris Orly Airport exemplifies their ethos—blending form with environmental storytelling. The mural changes colour over time, symbolising the airport’s progress toward carbon neutrality. At its unveiling, only 10% was coloured, representing achievements already met; the rest remained black and white, a metaphor for future commitments yet to come.

A Living Installation

Colour and movement are essential to Pangea’s signature. Their work harnesses the poetry of wind—through flags, sails, kites—and paints with palettes of joy and tenderness. “We want to express a feeling of freedom and lightness,” they explain, “and share that with our visitors.”

Designed specifically for the University of Milan, the installation interacts organically with the historic space. “The gates mimic the architecture of the university’s arches, creating a playful yet poetic resonance between past and present,” they add. “We hope people come away having experienced a walk—playful, reflective, and happy.”

Culture, Symbols, and Shared Myths

Beyond aesthetic, the work explores semiotics and symbolic language. “Symbols carry both universal and personal meanings,” they explain. Their vocabulary combines archetypes with their own invented visual myths, creating a lexicon that resonates across cultural lines while remaining deeply personal.

By crafting an immersive environment, Pangea emphasises the importance of bodily engagement. Visitors are not passive viewers but active participants—moving, transitioning, becoming aware of the power of a threshold, of choosing to step through a gate.

As first-timers at Milan Design Week, Pangea welcomes the buzz, the chaos, and the chance to be part of a larger creative conversation. “This is a wonderful opportunity to share our vision—and maybe in 10 years, we’ll be jaded,” they laugh.

Until then, their Oasis of Happiness stands—a living, breathing invitation to step into joy.