When you hear the word “data,” you probably think of numbers, charts, graphs, and reports. These are the most familiar formats for organizing and presenting information—designed to be efficient, straightforward, and often utilitarian. They serve a critical role in helping us make sense of complex systems, trends, and patterns. However, these conventional methods can also feel impersonal or overly technical, creating a barrier for people who might not naturally connect with statistics or raw figures. That’s why it’s especially compelling when someone takes data and transforms it into something more engaging, emotional, and visually imaginative.
Federica Fragapane’s Shapes of Inequalities is a powerful installation at the 24th International Exhibition “Inequalities” at Triennale Milano, which you can catch until November 9, 2025. By transforming cold data on economic, environmental, and social disparities into allegorical, living forms, the project offers a unique and empathetic perspective on global injustices. The series encompasses 16 visualizations across ten inequality dimensions, ranging from healthcare access and gender bias to climate displacement and life expectancy.
Designer:
Instead of using the traditional presentation of data, her abstract organic shapes resemble petals, sea creatures, or wind-carried fabrics flowing across the expanse, with muted hues of red, green, and purple serving both aesthetic and symbolic roles. These visuals “represent data that carries a living presence, the people and beings to whom the data is connected.” The soft lines invite contemplation, reflecting the human narratives behind the numbers with a tender but rigorous approach.
Fragapane’s soft, organic designs are intentional: they draw viewers in, encouraging them to slow down, observe closely, and connect emotionally. Unlike austere, minimalist data visuals, this installation uses beauty as entry which is a vehicle to witness painful realities with a sense of empathy rather than abstraction. She hopes her work leads to discovery and emotional resonance as pathways toward awareness and change. In this sense, Shapes of Inequalities is both a translation and an act of witnessing.
Fragapane describes her role as akin to a photographer of reality’s angles, choosing what to highlight and framing it through her lens. Having collaborated with institutions like the UN, WHO, the EU, Google, and MoMA, she balances technical precision with poetic nuance. She emphasizes that data is not neutral as it is shaped by research choices, human decisions, and inherent biases. Likewise, the visual interpretation is informed by her personal perspective, especially when addressing themes that touch her directly.
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