Exhibition for London Design Festival 2008 emphasising the designing and making of content for an exhibition rather than the show itself. I designed a 24hour show with a series of briefs running throughout the day. Visitors were encouraged to come and take part in the design work, offering opinions and conversations.
“Finally, there came a time when everything that men had considered as inalienable became an object of exchange, of traffic and could be alienated. This is the time when the very things which till then had been communicated, but never exchanged; given, but never sold; acquired, but never bought—virtue, love, conviction, knowledge, conscience, etc.—when everything, in short, passed into commerce.”
Karl Marx (Marx 1955: 30)
Deptford is a place of changing culture and activity. For 24hrs we have set out to explore, play and design objects, experiences and activities that highlight and react to this rapidly shifting environment.
We began at 7:30 am by exploring the things around us (including the market), attempting to form stories and ideas about the experiences, lives and people of Deptford. Collected objects formed the basis for mapping origins and possibilities, where they have been, what they have done, and where they may find themselves in the future.
The aim of this project was to immerse ourselves in the diverse and shifting communities surrounding Deptford in order to produce work. Collaboration through discussion, design and production was encouraged through a series of organised activities intended to punctuate, motivate, and provoke.
The end of the 24hr experiment has resulted in a document of the process, as well as having produced a series of designed artifacts. All of our experiences have been captured and expressed in the things that we produce.
“The scene is set, the playground open: unknown territory, unknown features, unknown futures. Maybe…”
(R.A.D, No. 97, 1991)
