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London Design Festival: Seven aerial installations by young designers Faye Toogood (above), Vic Lee, Paul Cocksedge, Philippe Malouin, Aberrant Architecture, Gitta Gschwendtner and Dominic Wilcox will be installed above the streets of Seven Dials in London during the London Design Festival next month, as part of a project curated by Dezeen.
Called Seven Designers for Seven Dials, the project is a collaboration between Dezeen and the Seven Dials shopping district, and will run from 14 September to 5 October 2012.
Each of the designs, which draw on different aspects of the history or character of Seven Dials, will also be showcased in an exhibition at Dezeen Super Store, our pop-up design emporium located in area. You can see details about each installation below.
Above: Queen Street, one of four illustrations by Vic Lee
London-based illustrator Vic Lee will create a series of flags that draw on the shady history of the Seven Dials area. The illustrations will incorporate the old street names during the 17th and 18th centuries, a time when Seven Dials was a slum famous for its gin shops.
Above: Dial by Paul Cocksedge
Paul Cocksedge will create a mysterious interactive installation called Dial, consisting simply of a large floating telephone number suspended between two buildings. Only those curious members of the public tempted to call the number will discover its secret.
Above: Bunting by Philippe Malouin
Philippe Malouin will erect a giant installation of bunting made from transparent PVC to celebrate and highlight the Seven Dials area and its landmarks. Blown by the wind, the sixty bunting lines will point the way to the Seven Dials monument.
Above: Catchpenny Quackery by Aberrant Architecture
Aberrant Architecture's installation will consist of 18 large metallic coins hanging above the street. Each coin will feature a unique symbol that advertises one of the bogus products and services that used to be offered by quack doctors in the Seven Dials area in years gone by.
Above: Aerial Escape by Gitta Gschwendtner
German-born designer Gitta Gschwendtner has also taken inspiration from the area's slum history, when each of the seven apexes facing the Seven Dials monument housed pubs linked by underground escape tunnels. In Gschwendtner's installation, seven interconnected ladders will link two windows either side of Earlham Street to seemingly provide an escape route across the road and beyond.
Above: The Birds of Seven Dials by Dominic Wilcox
Dominic Wilcox will create an arch across Neal Street made out of empty bird cages, referencing Charles Dickens’s description of Seven Dials as a place full of bird shops and bird cage makers. Each cage will be left open to symbolise the memory of the bird shops and birds long departed from the street.
Above: 7 x 7 by Faye Toogood
Hanging high above the heads of passers-by on Monmouth Street, Faye Toogood's installation will be a series of 49 outsized workers’ overcoats, representing the different trades within Seven Dials that have shaped the area over the years.
Seven Designers for Seven Dials
14 September to 5 October 2012
Seven Designers for Seven Dials is a collaboration between Dezeen and Seven Dials. More information about each of the installations can be found at:Â www.sevendials.co.uk/events.
www.dezeen.com
www.sevendials.co.uk