In September 2019 we launched VOID, a commissioned project as part of London Design Festival.
Together with The Experience Machine and in partnership with Gemfields we built a multi-sensory spatial installation at Collins Music Hall, Islington.
Visitors were part of an immersive experience, travelling through a series of large-scale projections that showcased the expanded space inside gemstones and mapped the blurring boundaries between nature and design.
A selection of Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds from Gemfields’ mines, which date back millions of years, were brought to life through photography of tiny microcosms magnified to become abstract, galaxy-like structures.
Accompanied by other semi-precious gems created in rare geological processes, these unique mineral formations were discovered, suspended and frozen in time.
The installation considered the concept of containment and scale, employing spatial design to explore the natural borders formed within these unique mineral formations.
By translating moving image into a contained physical form and scoring the experience with harmonised layers of the human voice – by female electronic drone choir NYX – visitors were invited to enter within the portrait of a gemstone’s natural inclusion.
Special Thanks to
Gemfields:
Sean Gilbertson
Emily Dungey
Sophie Ebbetts
Helen Choudhury
Orlando Beetge
Elena Basaglia
Adam Evans
London Design Festival:
Ben Evans CBE, Director
Dearbhla Mac Fadden, Group Head of Communications
Hanna Barber, Partnership Manager
Jonny Schofield, Project Manager
Annabel Hornsby, Communications Manager
Noma Moyo, Digital Assistant
Samuel Wilson, Communications
Art Partner:
Giovanni Testino
Jemima Hobson
Natural History Museum:
Mike Ramsey
Robin Hansen
Marcus McCallum
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