Dezeen Magazine

Works on Reflection II by Kim Thome at William Benington Gallery

Norwegian designer Kim Thome has installed a series of two-way mirrors that reflect vinyl stripes covering the walls of a London gallery (+ slideshow).

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Kim Thome fixed multicoloured and black and white strips of vinyl to the walls of William Benington Gallery and placed three two-way mirrors on simple black frames in the centre of the room.

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The semi-transparent surfaces produce optical illusions as the reflections are overlaid onto the background when viewed from different angles.

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Thome says the pattern was divided into coloured and monochrome areas following the shape of the interior and "giving a new graphic element to the mirrors as the viewer explores the space."

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An additional suspended circular artwork features a diagonal pattern on one surface, which is reflected by two-way mirror material applied to the perpendicular plane.

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Works on Reflection II is an extension of Kim Thome's graduation project, which was presented at the Royal College of Art earlier this year and comprised a range of colourful furniture with built-in two-way mirrors.

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Other illusory mirrors include an installation that looks as if people are climbing the facade of a London townhouse and a mirror that only works when it is placed in front of a dark shape on a wallSee all design with mirrors »

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Here's some more information from Kim Thome:


William Benington Gallery presents Kim Thome’s first show with the gallery; Works on Reflection II.

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Works On Reflection II is a spatial installation which is a result of a longer investigation exploring the ’reflective’. Using the gallery space as the canvas, the installation will use the ‘reflective’ as medium, or more specifically, a two way mirror. Colour, geometry and patterns are central in staging a fictional space for these to merge, creating an ephemeral ever-changing environment.

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Three mirrors stand central in the gallery space interacting and reflecting the colour vinyl pattern on the walls. Semi-transparent and reflective material such as two-way mirror allows the fore and background to be manipulated by carefully controlling the surrounding elements.

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Colour in the pattern divides the space into three separate areas following the gallery’s interior architecture, giving a new graphic element to the mirrors as the viewer explores the space.

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In this work viewers are challenged by what the reflections reveal, another reality, far from what is visually expected, engaging the viewer to reconsider the objects reflected.

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