One of the common and recurring clichés about London is that it is a gray city. In fact, beyond the gray sky the British capital offers many glimpses of color, just stop for a moment and look around more carefully.
We spoke with the eclectic and courteous designer Bethan Laura Wood who, this year, is present at the London Design Fair with two well-known Italian companies. She explained that the search for color was of fundamental importance in her life as a useful tool to assimilate the surrounding environment and to fully express herself.
Do not miss the CC-Tapis showroom where she will exhibit the Super Fake collection. The different knotting techniques of the carpets imitate the different surfaces of the rocks. In the Moroso showroom, instead, she will present Mono Mania Mexico: a textile installation with jacquard fabrics, prints, rugs, tapestries, and vases that recall the typical designs of the Otomi, an indigenous Mexican people, revisited in a contemporary version.
Who encouraged you to follow this creative path?
I always knew I wanted to become an artist and I think my parents encouraged me because they knew it was a fundamental part of my essence. Maybe because as a child they always saw me painting on the kitchen table! (Smiles). With the growth, in addition to painting and drawing, I got to know the world of design better. At the Royal College of Art, I learned to have more courage to try to acquire my taste and sense of color. I have always loved colors and patterns but until then I was uncertain and not confident about how to translate all this into the design world. My tutors Martino Gamper and Jurgen Bey have really pushed me to have more confidence in my tastes trying to use this aspect as language and identity for my work.
What will you present at this year’s London Design Week?
With CC-Tapis we will present our Super Fake collection. For Moroso, there will be a vibrant installation made up of fabrics, tapestries, vases, and furniture that will be part of my Mono Mania – Mexico collection.
Let’s talk about the Super Fake collection, where did you get inspiration from?
Super fake is very linked to a series of my works in London. The color palette is taken from my walks in East London. I analyzed the colors of the city and also the constant flow between the real and the unreal, the physical and the digital.
I really liked the idea of the continuous transition between one material and another, from “real” to “false”, something that is becoming more and more confused in the era of Instagram and Snapchat filters.
Each carpet is layered and is based on a different form of rock; the various processes have been developed over the years by Tibetan artisans.
Where will we find you during the London design week?
I will go as far as possible. I like walking in the different areas to see the greatest number of works. I will defiantly address what is happening in the eastern part of the city, where I have my studio. I have always loved the Brompton district and look at the installations at the Victoria and Albert Museum and can not wait to see Fernando Laposse‘s. I’m really impressed by his work which involves developing projects that celebrate Mexico’s natural streets and how to create new materials and surfaces from them.
Three things that characterize your work right now?
Color,
layers,
lines.
What do you collect?
Everything! I love vintage plastic and colored objects. I often start collecting based on the objects I’m working on. Since the beginning of the collaboration with Moroso and CC – Tapis, I have truly collected one billion fabrics!
Could not you live without …?
Colors.
