Tate Modern - Empty Lot

Abraham Cruzvillegas is a Hyundai Commision 2015 installation as part of a partnership between Hyundai and Tate. Cruzvillegas’s Empty Lot uses plots of soil from across London to form this installation which is held in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern from 13 October 2015 to 3 April 2016.

The geometric design is composed of triangular plant plots forming across two platforms. The triangle shapes are a response to the rectangular shape of the hall, reminiscent of Russian avant-garde artists.

The installation is made from reusable and recycled materials such as the scaffold which is to be reused after the installation. The wooden beams and metals poles are used from recycled materials. The plant plots contain soil and compost found across London parks crossing areas of Peckham, Haringey, Westminster and other places. The unpredictable possibilities inspires to provide questions about the city interacting with nature as Cruzvillegas puts it as “hope and expectation”. Moreover, the installation remains untouched except by the rays of light from the lamps and when it is watered adding to concept of different possibilities.

#EmptyLot

House of Vans - Polyphonic Playground

The Polyphonic Playground installation is housed at the House of Vans in London from 30 January up until 21 February 2016. It is interactive sound installation by Studio PSK, commissioned by the Fashion Space Gallery and London College of Fashion. It was developed by musician Reeps One.

The installation is inspired by the joys of the playground as a child, which comes complete with a slide, a climbing frame and swings. The installation employs advanced music engineering made with conductive paint, tape and yarn to create MIDI triggers, visible on the steps and the slide. The swing is interwoven with electronic textile.

#HouseofVans #PolyphonicPlayground 
 
 

The Mayor Gallery presents Calculations, Permutations, Notations - LAb[au]

The Mayor Gallery presents calculations, permutations, notations with all artworks created by LAb[au]. The exhibition coincided with Lumiere London 2016 festival in which Lab[au] is featured with their art installation binaryWAVES. The exhibition ran from 13 – 31 January 2016 at the .

The exhibition, very much like binaryWAVES, employs technology for the most part of the exhibition to animate their work as it plays on the geometry, shape and lighting to create different allusions and added textured layers to the artworks.

The pieces that feature origami has a subtlety to them which is further reinforced with the slender and occasional movements as a flap moves across playing on the surrealistic themes that run throughout the exhibition. More to the this theme is the concept of technology as also appears in print as well in oneOfABillionDays which features a series of alphanumerics that dances and dazzles upon the eye. LAb[au] presents the idea of “algorithmic logic” to challenge the idea of the contemporary vision and appeal.

mosaique 4x4x4 bw

signaltoNoisePermutation

origamiSquare 6x6x4

oneOfABillionDays

Origami Square 6x6x1

origamiSnubSquare 17x1

Winter Lights Festival @ Canary Wharf

A series of light installations were displayed across Canary Wharf which was part of the Lumiere London festival this year. Many of the artworks are marvelled spectacles that are not only visually stunning but some are currently encouraged to interact with the artworks one way or another. The festival ran from 11 to 22 January 2016.

Some of the light installations can be found below:

The Luminous City - Nathaniel Rackowe

Light Sphere I - Tom Wilkinson

We Could Meet - Martin Richman

A Parallel Image - Gebhard Sengmüller

Moon - Iregular (Daniel Iregui)

Aura (2014) - Philips Lighting Design

Lumen Prize Exhibition - Lumen

The Pool - Jen Lewin Studio

My Light is Your Light - Alaa Minawi
Globoscope - Collectif Coin

Flawless - Gonzalo Bascuñan & Perrine Vichet

On the Wings of Freedom - Aether & Hemera

Infinity Pools - Stephen Newby

bit.fall - Julius Popp

Totem - Bitone Collective

Fantastic Planet - Amanda Parer

Lumiere London 2016 - King's Cross

Lumiere is a series of light installations dotted around London with a selection of different displays such as sculptures and projections. The event is produced by Artichoke and supported by the Mayor of London. Some of it was at King's Cross from 14 to 17 January 2016. Asides from the gazing upon the wondrous beauty of these art pieces in the King's Cross area, there was a chance to get free candy floss at each point of the installation, which adds to the nice finish to the evening.

There are in total 11 installations in this trail at King's Cross:

Platonic Spin - Nathaniel Rackowe

IFO (Identified Flying Object) - Jacques Rival

Joining the Dots - Cleary Connolly

King's Cross Tunnel - Allies & Morrison / Spires + Major

Dresses - Tae gon KIM

Light Graffiti - Floating Pictures

binaryWaves - LAB[au]

Circus of Light - Ocubo

Litre of Light - Mick Stephenson, Central Saint Martin's Students & MyShelter Foundation

Spectra-3 Lux - FIELD.Io

Diver - Ron Haselden

#LumiereLDN

Adaptable House (6 Doughty Mews)

The Adaptable House (6 Doughty Mews) is an early 19th century mews house built around the same time Doughty Street was first laid down. The street was a gated residential reserve in between the London boroughs of the City and Westminster. The house was rebuilt in the 20th century possibly as a result of wartime bomb damage.

It was purchased by architects Cany Ash and Robert Sakula of Ash Sakula Architects, transforming the house into more than just a family home. At the time of purchase, it was completely derelict with the ground floor previously used as a printer’s workshop and the upper levels as storerooms. The house was rebuilt with an additional floor, roof garden and a bathroom. Over 30 years of design ideas and changes were made to meet the reflecting uses and demands implementing different strategies such as miniaturisation and spatial illusion.

Ground floor is the garage where it is used concurrently for storage but can be interchanged to become a wider space for recreational activities such as a playroom, party room, small theatre/cinema and events space.


Bathroom

Bathroom

Tree Room



Kitchen

The first floor contains the kitchen, tree room, bathroom and WC. Kitchen features open shelves and a large rack for crockeries above the sink coated in cast iron. Kitchen cupboard are covered in zinc. The tree room is a spare bedroom, which was previously used as an office and playroom. Two doors are used for the room, giving the first floor a circular motion through the kitchen into the tree room and back into the kitchen.

Small Front Bedroom

Large Front Bedroom

 

Fireplace Room

Fireplace Room

Fireplace Room

The second floor was previously the roof to the original two storey house but was extended with an additional floor and roof. The second floor contains the fireplace room, small front bedroom and large bedroom. The fireplace room is currently used as a bedroom and has previously been used as a living room, studio and playroom. The beams in the fireplace room used to hold up the roof doubles up as bookcases. The front small bedroom makes use of the space above the staircase while the large front bedroom used to hold the stairs to the roof bedroom until rearrangements allowed another bedroom.

Roof Bedroom

Roof Garden



Roof Garden

Roof Garden

The roof held the roof garden and the roof bedroom. The roof bedroom can be accessed from the second floor from a steep staircase or a door on the roof. The roof garden can be accessed from a spiral staircase. The roof garden’s table was an old door and the chimney can be used as a barbeque.

From down the road at 29 Doughty Mews comes another Ash Sakula Architects design which was completed in 1996 and won a RIBA award the year after.