Lausanne-based design studio Panter & Tourron have explored the link between ancient religious symbols and cutting-edge technology to create five spiritual objects.
Launched at Spazio Rossana Orlandi during this year's Milan design week, the Holy collection comprises five objects, including an amulet, a shiny ritual carafe and a black urn.
Each is designed to represent a different phase of spirituality: the first stage of becoming a believer, the purification ritual, the offerings to the gods, the communication with the gods, and the afterlife.
But in order to make them appear as contemporary devices, each has been crafted from modern-looking materials like aluminium and polymer.
"Imagine a scenario where today's technologies will exist only as relics from a future past," said Panter & Tourron founders Stefano Panterotto and Alexis Tourron. "
Like technological objects stripped from their original purpose, empty vessels open to interpretations, [we] have reimagined these new forms as a series of symbolic religious objects."
The designers began this project after noting how our rising dependency on devices had created a disconnection with religion and faith.
They also looked at the way people use technology in a similar way to religion. These objects, therefore, are designed to manifest a "set of rules" for followers to adhere to.
"We believe that technology has for the first time created a set of rules and values that, unlike religious ones before, are shared, recognised and adopted by everyone," they said.
"This unanimous belief appears to our eyes almost like the rise of a new universal cult, if we can define it like that, pushing us to investigate more into the correlation between technology and religion."
Holy is on show during this year's Milan design week at Spazio Rosanna Orlandi Via Matteo Bandello 14-16, until 22 April.
The part-gallery, part-design shop – located in a former tie factory in the Magenta neighbourhood of the Italian city – is also presenting new collections by Ini Archibong and Canadian designer Matthew McCormick.