SPIRIT of PLACE
London 2023
For London Design Festival 2023, Simone Brewster presents ‘Spirit of Place’ on The Strand in collaboration with Amorim cork, intended to ‘capture the essence of the forest’
The festival winning commission came about after a visit to the cork oak forest in Portugal, to view the star material and the environmentally positive processes behind the material.
The family of sculptures, whose aesthetic language speaks to architectural columns, totemic deities and historical vessels is rooted in the desire to bring the essence of the forest to the centre of London, and remind its inhabitants of the wonder or nature and remind the design world of how essential the material, cork is. The vessels 2.5m tall, represent cork forests in Portugal. The future of the forest is secured by four key traits: drought resistance, fungal resistance, upright expression, and fast voluminous growth. These four characteristics contribute to the visual language of the piece.
“A group of large, totemic cork vessels has arrived in central London this September, marking out a bold presence on The Strand. Created by designer Simone Brewster, the outdoor public installation – titled ‘Spirit of Place’ – has been commissioned for London Design Festival 2023 (16–24 September), situated on a recently pedestrianised section of the historic West End street. Together, the five sculptural vessels are intended to evoke a forest of cork oak trees in Portugal. The forest, at Herdade de Rio Frio, is managed by Portuguese cork manufacturer Amorim, which collaborated with Brewster on the project.”
Extract from Wallpaper* article by Francesca Perry
