April @ ACO. - Exhibition Roundup | Tipping Point East | Island Exploring
THANK YOU FOR VISITING
Photo by Sandra Nagel
Last week I presented my work publicly for the first time through SPECIMEN, a collaboration with screen printer Tanguy Bertocchi from VaryLab.
The past month has been focused on refining the production of a single object while developing a new creative partnership. This process, followed by presenting the work, has been a rewarding challenge and a chance to grow in new ways. I’ve spent the last seven years working largely alone, building in the workshop, then installing pieces into homes where they’re seen by only a small number of people. This was something different.
The space featured a mixture of the process, ideas & finished pieces including the stools, canvases & bags with the screen printed type. Presenting everything in this way gave us the chance to speak with new people about the process, share details with our communities and those who had been following along from a distance.
An interesting conversation was one that drew the parallels between the all the work starting from a rolls of fabric and sheet of materials.
It was also the first time I’ve been able to properly share process in a physical setting. Alick Cotterill produced a film of the project, which gave visitors a clearer window into both our workshops and the thinking behind the work.
Thank you to everyone who came through, took the time to look, ask questions, and engage with it.
The stools are now available now via the ACO. Shop, and the SPECIMEN Bags are available directly through VaryLab.
A VISIT TO TIPPING POINT EAST
This week I had the opportunity to visit Tipping Point East, a new circular construction hub in the Royal Docks, Newham. Created by and home to Yes Make, RESOLVE Collective and Material Cultures, the site brings together practices working at the intersection of design, construction and material reuse.
Alongside around 60 other visitors, we were guided through the material stores, offices and workshops that currently occupy a small portion of the site, with plans to expand significantly in the coming years. TPE collects, reclaims and redistributes materials to community groups and projects that prioritise reuse over virgin resources.
The storage yard feels somewhere between a depot and an archive. Shelves are stacked with museum plinths, surplus sheets of glass from major construction projects, and felled trees that would otherwise have been chipped - all held here, waiting for a second life.
It pushes me to think beyond making, considering both the waste generated in the workshop (very small offcuts in my case) and the longer life of each piece I make. What happens when it outlives its original home or purpose? It’s something I want to start addressing more directly in how I design and build.
Thank you to Sabine @ Zetteler for the invite & inspiring morning.
RULES MAKE ME MORE CREATIVE
I’m currently planning a series of self-directed and formal residencies for the summer & autumn.
Part of this will take me back to Ærø, a small island off the southern coast of Denmark that I first visited last year during a cycle from the UK through the Netherlands and Germany - UK - NL - DE - DK.
This time, the intention is different.
Rather than passing through, I want to work within the constraints of the island itself. A fixed geography of 30 km by 8 km becomes a boundary for making, thinking, and observing. A way to contain the process.
The aim is to balance structure with openness. To arrive with a clear framework, but leave space for unexpected directions to emerge through being there. Alongside this, I’ll be visiting 3DaysofDesign in Copenhagen for the first time.
I’ve also been looking at models such as High Desert Test Sites, founded by Andrea Zittel, whose A-Z projects frame everyday life as a site for investigation. Her approach to structure and constraint resonates strongly at this stage. - “Rules make me more creative.”
This trip will be an attempt to test that idea in practice.
Hopefully you’ve noticed a shift in recent updates, moving away from a steady stream of commissions and towards work that feels more exploratory, more considered, and pushes both myself and the practice into new territory.
That said I’m actively taking on select bespoke commissions for projects in homes around London, do get in touch if you have an idea in mind.
As always if something catches your interest here then please do say hello 👋 I love talking about techniques or how / why I’ve approached things in certain ways.
Thank you
Peter