“Hybridization is not imitation. It is the creation of a new language from fragments of many histories.”
— CTRLZAK Studio
— CTRLZAK Studio
A world renowned research project that redefines ceramics through its history. In a world saturated by chimaeras of globalisation the Hybrid project is a reflection on how our diverse historical cultures can help us create a common meaningful future. Starting from a collection of tableware reflecting on the traditional production of Chinese and European porcelain and its centuries of cross-fertilisation, the project has grown to encompass more paradigms and cultures projecting the vision of a more conscious hybrid future.
CeramiX Art Collection | 2010
CeramiX is a series of ceramic objects reflecting on the historical production of Chinese and European porcelain and its centuries of cross-fertilisation between Western and Eastern aesthetics. China has a long tradition in the production of ceramics and especially porcelain and Europe has for many centuries tried to copy the Chinese in that field. Nowadays our world is invaded by Chinese products that in most cases attempt to imitate those of Europeans. CeramiX is a reflection upon the irony of history through the world of ceramics. After an initial research in the traditional techniques, methods and evolution of both Chinese and European ceramics, the CTRLZAK team has identified certain key elements that distinguish both cultures.
CeramiX is a series of ceramic objects reflecting on the historical production of Chinese and European porcelain and its centuries of cross-fertilisation between Western and Eastern aesthetics. China has a long tradition in the production of ceramics and especially porcelain and Europe has for many centuries tried to copy the Chinese in that field. Nowadays our world is invaded by Chinese products that in most cases attempt to imitate those of Europeans. CeramiX is a reflection upon the irony of history through the world of ceramics. After an initial research in the traditional techniques, methods and evolution of both Chinese and European ceramics, the CTRLZAK team has identified certain key elements that distinguish both cultures.
CeramiX Art Collection consists of 24 original pieces derived from classical Chinese and European plates, bowls, vases and cups, reassembled as unusual remixes. These objects were sought for in antique stores and flea markets and some of them even came from personal family collections. The pairing process of the two heterogeneous halves was by no means arbitrary; each piece has a visual narrative which is created through a careful selection of the two parts in such a way that they complement each other, enriching the end result. CeramiX Art Collection was the inspiration for both the Hybrid project, which brings art in everyday life, and the CeramiX Design Collection, which employs contemporary forms to symbolise a complex past.
Hybrid 1.0 | 2011
Inspired by the CeramiX Art project this collection brings art closer to everyday life. Hybrid 1.0 is produced in fine porcelain in China by Italian company Seletti and consists of various tableware. The pieces in the collection are graphically divided between east and west with a coloured line marking the boundary between the two prints and, paradoxically, strengthening at the same time the union.
Inspired by the CeramiX Art project this collection brings art closer to everyday life. Hybrid 1.0 is produced in fine porcelain in China by Italian company Seletti and consists of various tableware. The pieces in the collection are graphically divided between east and west with a coloured line marking the boundary between the two prints and, paradoxically, strengthening at the same time the union.
Hybrid World | 2021
The collection examines the shameful history of European colonisation across the globe illustrating the differences and similarities between the ancient cultures that were invaded and the Europeans themselves. The message is the exact opposite of “colonialism”: each culture has the same importance; if colonisation was based on the idea of one culture prevailing on another, Hybrid World wants to make things right by celebrating the uniqueness of each culture while showing the strength of their connection.
The Hybrid World collection transcends geographical and political borders, emphasising the importance of diverse expressions, promoting the creation of a conscious hybrid future based on past knowledge and mutual understanding. The latest pieces of the collection are available at : seletti.it
The collection examines the shameful history of European colonisation across the globe illustrating the differences and similarities between the ancient cultures that were invaded and the Europeans themselves. The message is the exact opposite of “colonialism”: each culture has the same importance; if colonisation was based on the idea of one culture prevailing on another, Hybrid World wants to make things right by celebrating the uniqueness of each culture while showing the strength of their connection.
The Hybrid World collection transcends geographical and political borders, emphasising the importance of diverse expressions, promoting the creation of a conscious hybrid future based on past knowledge and mutual understanding. The latest pieces of the collection are available at : seletti.it
Hybrid Lamps | 2025
Expanding the Hybrid collection into a new typology of luminous vessels, these three porcelain pendant lamps are shaped by contrast: ornament and restraint, East and West, shadow and glow. Through diverse sculptural silhouettes, each piece filters light through its decorated surfaces, creating soft reflections and a warm, ambient presence that reconciles distant aesthetic languages into a single contemporary glow.
Expanding the Hybrid collection into a new typology of luminous vessels, these three porcelain pendant lamps are shaped by contrast: ornament and restraint, East and West, shadow and glow. Through diverse sculptural silhouettes, each piece filters light through its decorated surfaces, creating soft reflections and a warm, ambient presence that reconciles distant aesthetic languages into a single contemporary glow.
Neither restoration nor pastiche, Hybrid treats objects as living archives. By joining fragments of porcelain traditions from different places and centuries, CTRLZAK transforms discontinuity into coherence, allowing separate histories to inhabit a single form. The collection proposes that identity is not fixed but assembled—a dialogue between cultures, memories, and time itself. In these works, fracture becomes continuity, and the hybrid object emerges as a quiet monument to the beauty of coexistence.
Words & images courtesy of CTRLZAK studio.
