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    Order an Object at the New V&A East Storehouse to Get Up-Close to 5,000 Years of Cultural Heritage

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    The Weston Collections Hall at V&A East
    Storehouse, including over 100 mini
    curated displays in the ends and sides of the storage racking. The
    space is anchored by six large-scale objects, including a building section from the now-demolished Robin Hood
    Gardens, a former residential estate in
    Poplar, east London. Photo by Hufton +
    Crow for V&A. All images courtesy of V&A, shared with permission

    Order an Object at the New V&A East Storehouse to Get Up-Close to 5,000 Years of Cultural Heritage

    June 3, 2025

    ArtDesignHistory

    Kate Mothes

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    What do the largest Picasso painting in the world, punky Vivienne Westwood apparel, pins for securing a 17th-century ruff, and a complete Frank Lloyd Wright interior have in common? That’ll be the U.K.’s Victoria and Albert Museum, or the V&A, the world’s largest collection of design and applied and decorative arts.

    In South Kensington, the palatial museum has awed visitors since 1852, and in recent decades, the institution has greatly expanded, with locations like the Young V&A in Bethnal Green, the Wedgwood Collection in Stoke-on-Trent, the ship-like V&A Dundee in Scotland, and the brand new V&A East Storehouse in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

    The largest Picasso work in the world, the 1924 front stage cloth for the Ballets Russes’ production, ‘Le Train Bleu,’ at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry/PA Media Assignments. Pablo Picasso, “Le Train Bleu front stage cloth” (1924) © The estate of Pablo Picasso

    Spanning 5,000 years of human creativity through hundreds of thousands of objects requires a lot of space. Rather than hiding it all away in a dark warehouse, the new Storehouse takes over a portion of the former 2012 London Olympics Media Centre, providing a purpose-built home for more than 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books, and 1,000 archives from across the V&A’s diverse collections.

    The best part? You can visit! Storehouse hosts workshops, screenings, performances, and pop-up displays of special collections, along with the opportunity to observe conservators at work preserving a wide range of cultural heritage objects.

    Peruse more than 100 curated mini-displays throughout the building, and book in advance to get up-close and personal through the Order an Object experience. Pick any object in storage, and a member of the Collections Access team will assist you in interacting safely with everything from artworks to textiles to musical instruments.

    Plan your visit on the V&A website.

    The 17th-century Agra Colonnade, an extraordinary example of Mughal architecture from the bathhouse at the fort of Agra, visible through the Weston Collections Hall glass floor, and accessible via Object Encounters at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by Hufton + Crow for V&A

    View of Weston Collections Hall, which features more than 100 mini curated displays, at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by Kemka Ajoku for V&A

    Welcome area at V&A East Storehouse with pull-out framed textiles to explore. Photo by Kemka Ajoku for V&A

    Mesh roll-out storage racking at V&A East Storehouse. Available via Object Encounters visits. Photo by Hufton + Crow for V&A

    Multi-purpose conservation studio, visible from the Conservation Overlook at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry/PA Media Assignments

    View of the Weston Collections Hall at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry/PA Media Assignments

    Order an Object appointment at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by Bet Bettencourt forV&A Object pictured is Althea McNish, “Rubra” (1961), furnishing fabric

    View of a section of Robin Hood Gardens, a former residential estate in Poplar, east London, at V&A East Storehouse. Photo by David Parry/PA Media Assignments

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      in Art

      In ‘Of the Oak,’ a Magnificent Tree at Kew Gardens Gets an Immersive ‘Digital Double’

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      All images courtesy of Marshmallow Laser Feast, courtesy of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, shared with permission

      In ‘Of the Oak,’ a Magnificent Tree at Kew Gardens Gets an Immersive ‘Digital Double’

      May 30, 2025

      ArtDesignNatureScience

      Kate Mothes

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      “We believe in the power of stories to tickle senses and shift perceptions,” says Marshmallow Laser Feast, an experiential artist collective merging art, extended reality (XR), and film into large-scale, immersive exhibitions.

      MLF’s latest work, Of the Oak, situates a monumental, six-meter-tall, double-sided video of the titular tree in London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The piece focuses on the garden’s Lucombe oak, portraying a “digital double” using real-world data.

      Photo by Barney Steel

      MLF collaborated with researchers from Kew to create a vibrant, scientific rendering, blending advanced technologies with artistic imagery. The team stitched together thousands of images, used LiDAR to map the tree’s form with laser pulses, CT-scanned soil samples, employed ground-penetrating radar to trace the root system, and recorded a series of 24-hour soundtracks.

      “Of the Oak is a celebration for the oak tree as a living monument of vital ecological relationships and species interdependence,” MLF says. “It is an invitation to witness the oak as a keystone in the web of life, majestic and unassuming, stretching its branches skyward and its roots deep into the soil, embodying both quiet strength and boundless generosity.”

      Visitors can access a stunning digital field guide on their phones or via desktop from anywhere, featuring a series of meditations that “tune into the invisible bond between humans and trees.” The app also includes an interactive species guide highlighting the diverse range of birds, insects, fungi, and other inhabitants that rely on oak trees for survival.

      Of the Oak continues at Kew through September 28. Marshmallow Laser Feast is also currently presenting an immersive, seven-room exhibition titled YOU:MATTER at the National Science and Media Museum as part of Bradford 2025 U.K. City of Culture. See more projects on the collective’s website.

      Photo by Sandra Ciampon

      Photo by Barney Steel

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    • 175 Shares112 Views

      in Art

      A Rippling Townhouse Facade by Alex Chinneck Takes a Seat in a London Square

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      Photos by Charles Emerson. All images courtesy of Alex Chinneck Studio, shared with permission

      A Rippling Townhouse Facade by Alex Chinneck Takes a Seat in a London Square

      May 22, 2025

      ArtDesign

      Kate Mothes

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      It takes a real knack for design to make something as hefty and industrial as steel and bricks appear weightless or even playful. But British artist Alex Chinneck (previously) is no stranger to monumental projects that reimagine urban infrastructure and buildings into striking public installations.

      As part of London’s Clerkenwell Design Week, Chinneck unveiled “A week at the knees,” a new sculpture in Charterhouse Square that takes its cue from an iconic predecessor. The artist installed the “From the Knees of my Nose to the Belly of my Toes” in 2013 on a dilapidated townhouse in Margate, appearing as though the entire front of the building had simply slid right off. On view through June in London, his new work boasts a frame made from 320 meters of repurposed steel and 7,000 bricks.

      “A week at the knees” playfully anthropomorphizes a classic Georgian facade, with its lower two levels rippling over a pathway as if seated in the park with its knees up. London is famous for its green squares and gardens, and Chinneck’s work invites visitors to pass through a unique portal that calls upon the history of its surroundings, complete with downspout and lamps flanking the arched front door.

      Chinneck fabricated the sculpture in collaboration with numerous British companies to source and create bespoke steel beams, curving windows, and bricks. At five meters tall and weighing 12 tons, the piece mimics a life-size building while sporting a thickness of only 15 centimeters. The effect lends itself to the experience of a hefty, architectonic structure with a graceful, lightweight personality.

      Explore more on Chinneck’s website and Instagram.

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    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Lauren Halsey’s ’emajendat’ Is an Energetic Celebration of South Central Los Angeles

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      Installation view of ’emajendat’ at Serpentine South. Installation photos by Hugo Glendinning, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of Serpentine, shared with permission

      Lauren Halsey’s ’emajendat’ Is an Energetic Celebration of South Central Los Angeles

      January 14, 2025

      ArtSocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      Inspired by the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, where Lauren Halsey’s family has lived for generations, vibrant sculptures and site-specific installations vividly reflect the artist’s community.

      At Serpentine South, a large-scale, maximalist exhibition titled emajendat highlights Halsey’s self-described obsession with material culture, her interest in remixing messages and symbols, and the need to confront issues that affect people of color, the queer community, and the working class.

      Installation view

      Halsey gathers photographs, posters, flyers, commercial signs, and found objects that relate to her communities’ activism, highlighting “a sense of civic urgency and free-flowing imagination,” says David Kordansky Gallery, which co-represents the artist with Gagosian. “Inspired by Afrofuturism and funk, as well as the signs and symbols that populate her local environments, Halsey creates a visionary form of culture that is at once radical and collaborative.”

      Past, present, and future merge in the artists exploration of how idols, architecture, history, and communication fuel how we perceive identities and society. She draws on the imagery of ancient Egypt, the African diaspora, Black and queer icons, and the visionary design associated with funk to construct a kind of ever-evolving archive.

      In a monumental rooftop installation titled “the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I),” Halsey nods to palatial, ancient Egyptian architecture, placing the faces of notable Black figures on the columns’ capitals, such as activist Susan Burton and ethnomusicologist Dr. Rachel Eubanks.

      Halsey’s eclectic “funkmound” sculptures also encompass numerous found items, harboring miniature dioramas and objects that appear as though they are emerging from heaps of cotton candy. Throughout emajendat, seemingly endless collages, sculptures, reflections, prismatic color, patterns, messages, and textures welcome the viewer into an enthusiastically immersive experience.

      Installation view of ‘The Roof Garden Commission: Lauren Halsey,’ “the eastside of south central los angeles hieroglyph prototype architecture (I)” (2022). Photo by Hyla Skopitz, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of the artist; David Kordansky Gallery and The Metropolitan Museum of Art

      The social element of Halsey’s work is amplified by a community center she founded in 2019 called Summaeverythang, located adjacent to her studio in South Central. The nonprofit initiative is “dedicated to the empowerment and transcendence of Black and Brown folks socio-politically, economically, intellectually, and artistically.”

      emajendat continues through February 23 in Kensington Gardens, London. Plan your visit on the gallery’s website.

      Foreground: “keepers of the krown (susan burton)” (2024), glass fiber, reinforced concrete, and mixed media, 261 3/4 x 48 1/8 x 48 1/8 inches. Background: “keepers of the krown (dr. rachel eubanks)” (2024), glass fiber, reinforced concrete, and mixed media 261 3/4 x 48 1/8 x 48 1/8 inches. Photo by Andrea Avezzù, © Lauren Halsey, courtesy of the artist, David Kordansky Gallery, and Gagosian

      Installation view

      Installation detail

      Installation view

      Installation detail

      Installation collage detail

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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

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      “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (2024), Serpentine North Garden. Photo by George Darrell. Image courtesy of Serpentine and The Melrose Gallery, shared with permission

      A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

      October 10, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      For more than eight decades, Dr. Esther Mahlangu has been creating large-scale, site-specific works that draw on the artistic traditions of Ndebele culture.

      Known for her vibrant, patterned compositions, Mahlangu learned techniques for decorating houses from her mother and grandmother while growing up in South Africa. She mixes natural pigments with clay, soil, and cow dung to paint directly on the exteriors of structures in her village.

      Photo by George Darrell

      Ndebele house painting emerged in the mid-18th century when the matrilineal tribe began to build huts out of mud rather than grass. Women applied colorful patterns to the walls to not only brighten the village but also communicate with others.

      The geometric shapes, characterized by bold, black outlines, serve as a visual language to express personal values, prayers, or major life events.

      Mahlangu paints by hand without using stencils or masking tape, employing chicken feathers and various brushes to create painstaking geometries that preserve a handmade quality. Over time, she has also created numerous works on canvas, using acrylic to broaden the range of hues in her work.

      Esther Mahlangu photographed by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

      At Serpentine North in Hyde Park, London, Mahlangu’s first installation the U.K. was unveiled this week on a wall in the gallery’s garden.

      Comprising six wooden panels, the monumental mural celebrates unity and community and taps into an Ndebele philosophy: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which translates to: “I am because you are.”

      The mural remains on view through September 28, 2025. Plan your visit on the Serpentine website, and learn more about Mahlangu’s remarkable work and career on her website and Instagram.

      Photo by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

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    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Art

      Sebas Velasco Reflects the Spirit of Brixton for London Mural Festival

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      “A Lasting Place” (2024), London. Photo by Jose Delu. All courtesy of London Mural Festival, shared with permission

      Sebas Velasco Reflects the Spirit of Brixton for London Mural Festival

      September 21, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Drawing from photographs of landscapes and cinematic portraits, Sebas Velasco’s murals and paintings boldly capture people and places. For the 2024 London Mural Festival, the artist has unveiled a large-scale portrayal of a local resident of Brixton, where the piece was recently installed on the end of a residential building.

      Shown waiting for the Brixton train line, the young man in Velasco’s painting leans back against a concrete railing and looks off to the side, illuminated by the station’s lights, which also glow in the background. Titled “A Lasting Place,” Velasco taps into a sense of time slowing down, contemplation, and ease.

      Photo by Jose Delu

      Velasco revels in the process of exploring and learning about the places where he develops his public art pieces. The compositions emerge organically as he immerses himself in the local environment and meets people who live in the area.

      Along with his long-time collaborator Jose Delu, who assists with creating highly contrasted, vibrant photographs, Velasco draws on conversations and experiences in each place in order to reveal something of its spirit through his work. He often addresses the idea of connection, which is also the theme of this year’s festival.

      If you’re in London, you can explore more than 100 murals through September 29 as part of the event, including pieces familiar to Colossal readers like Marija Tiurina. New installations this year have been created by Aches Elseed, BAPE, D*Face, Betz Etam, Anna Ovney, and more.

      Find a map on the festival’s website, and to dig further into Velasco’s work, check out his website and Instagram.

      Wedo Goas, 39 Lee Church St

      Bezt Etam, Roundwood Estate

      Liam Bononi, 125 South Lambeth Rd

      Zoe Power, Jo Hicks, and Vanessa Scott, Canary Wharf

      BAPE x D*Face collaboration

      Sophie Mess, The Stage, Shoreditch

      Anna Ovney, Leadenhall Building, City of London

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