Tuesday 28 September 2010

I Cling To Virtue at the V and A


One of our favourite things during the London Design Festival this year was this small but exquisitely formed show at the V&A. Conceived by Onkar Kular and Noam Toran, the work is a response to a brief requiring them to create a site specific installation. In a beautiful dimly lit (and seldom visited one suspects) room at the end of the V&A's European galleries, the pair, in collaboration with Keith R Jones have 'collected' a variety of objects and anecdotes, some fictional, some from the artists' own pasts, to tell the story of a family who may or may not be real.



The objects have been beautifully recreated in white resin which practically glows against the dark bottle green silk of the museum showcases. The stories themselves are a mixture of funny and poignant, which is I guess the essence of a certain kind of family life - where seemingly bad luck can result in a total transformation of someone's fortunes a couple of generations down the line. The accompanying booklet designed by Abake is beautiful in itself, and contains all the stories from the exhibition within should you want to read at your leisure.



A lovely surprise from the V&A, and on until October 10.

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