Spin Phase [Planar] - London Design Festival

Spin Phase [Planar] - London Design Festival

Date and time:

13 - 21 Sep 2025 10:00 - 18:00 BST

Orbiting masses and trailing ribbons form a living instrument of rhythm and turbulence. Spin Phase [Planar] captures the balance between machine precision and natural disorder.

In the eternal dance of sunrise and sunset, spring’s arrival and winter’s farewell, we find the rhythm of existence. Spin Phase delves into this rhythm, exploring the kinetic beauty of phasing cycles through sculpture. Three suspended masses spin around a central axis, each tethered by a long cable and trailing a flowing ribbon. Driven at slightly different speeds, their orbits slowly drift in and out of alignment at times converging in elegant synchronicity, at others dissolving into swirling chaos. The result is a constantly shifting choreography of light and motion, evoking both the grace of a gymnast’s ribbon and the unpredictable harmony of planetary motion.

The interplay between the ribbons and their movement through air is central to the sculpture’s magic. As the masses rotate, the ribbons trail behind, fluttering, twisting, and snapping in unpredictable rhythms. Their motion is chaotic yet choreographed, shaped by speed, airflow, and proximity. This dynamic behaviour produces a subtle but immersive acoustic layer: the soft whip of fabric, the rush of displaced air, the occasional snap as a ribbon folds or flicks. The space becomes charged with a quiet, kinetic energy, audible, spatial, and alive. Spin Phase becomes a living instrument of motion and sound, inviting the viewer to slow down, to listen as much as to watch, and to tune into the layered rhythms that unfold moment by moment.

Presented as part of the Material Matters programme for the London Design Festival 2025, Spin Phase [Planar] is installed in the iconic Space House, where the building’s expansive volume and natural light amplify its presence. From the street, passersby glimpse its turbulence in motion, while inside, sunlight and acoustics transform the work into an immersive encounter with rhythm, turbulence, and fleeting harmony.