London Design Festival 2015: artist and designer Seetal Solanki is launching her material consultancy studio Matter with a six-day exhibition and programme of events (+ slideshow).
Living in a Material World will bring together a week of talks and demonstrations alongside an exhibition that seeks to demystify the relationship between materials and the creative process.
Solanki established Matter as a research studio that will explore ideas and processes, with the aim of increasing awareness of the roles of both tangible substances and conceptual materials.
The exhibition will showcase work from designers including Tamsin van Essen, Lightning + Kinglyface and Marlene Huissoud, all of whom have created pieces that correspond with Matter's objectives.
Amy Radcliffe's scentography "camera" captures and records odours, while ceramicist van Essesn's Erosion series of porcelain sculptures recreate the appearance of natural processes – which previously featured as part of an exhibition in Prague.
Experimental designer Huissoud is showing a series of pieces made from bio-degradable resin collected by honey bees, and a "wooden leather" material composed of glue derived from the fibres of silkworm cocoons.
Researcher and designer Shamees Aden has also explored new materials with the amoeba surface-adapting trainer – a prototype that explores the possibilities of making new materials from protocells.
In addition to the exhibition of work, there will be a five-day series of events, themed around each of the five senses. Speakers will explore everything from designing with living matter, to the link between scent and memory, and ways to make food from foraged landfill ingredients.
"It's not only important to value the things that we make but also to understand how construction and exploitation of materials can transform or destroy the things we currently engage with, whether that be a view or part of our daily routine," said Solanki.
"We want to improve understanding of the significance of the raw ingredients and forces involved in creating the things we want and need," she added.
The exhibition will open on 22 September 2015 at the One Good Deed Today store as part of London Design Festival, which will take place from 19 to 27 September.
Also on display at this year's festival will be artist Barnaby Barford's Tower of Babel installation built from 3,000 tiny shops, Norwegian design studio Kneip's series of moving metal and wood weather sensors, and Japanese ceramics designer Reiko Kaneko's glazed porcelain vases.