The lines between art, craft and design seem to blur more and more, traditional processes and the latest technology are no longer a contradiction. Form no longer just follows function but also takes into consideration environmental concerns. Some of the most exciting exhibits at the London Design Biennale don’t just look good, they do good.
Malta presents a sculptural sphere that at first sight resembles a beautifully carved stone sculpture. It turns out that the sphere that almost fills an entire room was not carved from freshly excavated stone but from construction waste, limestone dust – and cremated human remains! The concept is truly cyclical as the spheres are designed as funary architecture to be returned to the quarries they were taken from and play a part in a cultural shift that has seen the recent legalisation of cremations on a densely populated island. Not surprisingly, ‘URNA’ has just been announced as the most outstanding overall contribution at LDB.
The Polish presentation deals with a different type of waste, that of time. The winners of last year’s top prize have developed a language that visualises not just durations in an ever faster paced world, but acts as a commentary on the pressures and failures of contemporary life. Carved into wood in the same period of time as the average ambulance response time becomes a simple line while the average wait time for a psychiatric appointment reflects the ups and downs in intricate patterns to reflect the experience. A museum guard waiting during a shift is an orderly assortment of squares while a farmer waiting for rain during a drought reflects the unpredictability of nature. A sentence in the catalogue beautifully sums up my visit as answering the hosts’ ‘invitation to slow down, to reflect, and to discover that even in waiting, there is beauty worth carving into our memories’.
Oman comments on the loss of tradition in the digital age with a stunning display of transparent renditions of traditional Omani pottery. Visitors are invited to add their own stories to the ‘Memory Grid’ via a QR code. The interactive part didn’t work for me but just walking through the darkened chamber filled with glowing vessels was worth the visit.
Another visually stunning presentation is the Japanese installation in the beautiful spiral staircase at Somerset House, in itself a showcase. A modern interpretation of a technique in old Japanese paintings and book illustration where empty space has its own materiality, ‘Paper Clouds’ float in the void between ground floor and ceiling light. The project also includes a prototype of a recyclable paper dress and a sound piece based on the sound of Washi paper interacting with the body.
While most of the main pavilions are positioned on ground floor level, Rachel Botsman’s ‘Roots of Trust’ is in one of the last rooms you reach on the lower levels. The artist reimagines a long forgotten organisational chart that positions leadership at the root of a tree-like concept with organic branches spreading out as an organisation grows. A visually striking contrast to the strict top-down corporate matrices that don’t allow for any side shoots.
Hong Kong didn’t quite make the cut for me. The concept and visuals of their ‘Visuospace’ deserve a better home. I hope they will be invited by Outernet or Flannels to show in a more digital-friendly environment.
I enjoyed the multitude of responses to this year’s theme ‘Surface Reflections’ most of which emphasised not just craftsmanship and tradition but also placed emphasis on sustainability. Until I arrived at the ‘Living Assembly: Building with Biology’ presented by Northumbria University & UCL. Working towards a future built environment that is grown rather than constructed, the room was filled with intriguing patterns created from microbes and fungi – and a smell that made me turn around almost instantly. Maybe an example of these mysterious odours that only some of us are sensitive to, others seemed perfectly happy to browse the displays.
London Design Biennale 2025 6th – 29th June 2025 Somerset House
11am-6pm
