London-based Ruup & Form is pleased to share that they are the only gallery selected by Es Devlin and a prestigiou expert panel to take residence at Somerset House, with a collaboration realised by interdisciplinary artist Naomi McIntosh. The coveted presence at the third edition of the London Design Biennale will be part of a global gathering of around 25 countries and territories presenting their response to the theme Resonance. The 2021 Biennale has invited an artistic response to sustainability and innovation, and the gallery’s installation ‘Quiet Garden’ will explore the resonance of nature.

‘Quiet Garden’ is an immersive, kinetic, and multi-sensory installation comprising suspended wooden sculptures and the sounds and scents of McIntosh’s local Scottish Highlands. Rooted in sustainability, the suspended beech wood pieces are skeuomorphic – alternately appearing heavy and solid or light and lace-like. There will be shifts and changes as they gently turn and move and have a reciprocity with the viewer as the spaces and internal forms are seen, emulating the interplay of structure, light, and shadow found in nature. Over 15 pieces have been named with a Scots word that relates to the weather. ‘Quiet Garden’ invites viewers to interact with the symphony of sights, sounds and smells and into a quiet, reflective conversation that considers the relationship between body and object.

An architect by trade, Naomi McIntosh earned an MA in jewellery design from Central Saint Martins. Her primary material, wood, is also her primary source of inspiration, utilised to prompt an emotional response to the sensation of being within green landscapes. McIntosh captures the changing feeling of space, scale, planes and light using techniques similar to an architectural model maker. Her work incorporates a broad range of skills, including digital and hand processes and has been displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and the London Design Festival.

“With ‘Quiet Garden’ I wanted to capture the ephemeral qualities and calm that I’m fortunate
to experience from my workshop surroundings at Cairngorms National Park and highlight the
importance and preciousness of the natural world. ‘Quiet Garden’ is about presenting the
essential nature in pockets of spaces between the plants and trees. I wanted to tell a story
and share the feeling of the sanctity of being in landscape: the changing light, movement of
branches and leaves and visual noise of being within trees, plants and grasses,”
Naomi McIntosh.

The exhibition runs from June 1st – June 27th.

To learn more about Ruup & Form please visit the website – www.ruupandform.com