Louis Alderson-Bythell

Their research interests are in intangible cultural heritage, human and machine creativity, craftsmanship, regenerative creativity and economics.

Louis is a practicing sculptor, developing site-specific public artworks. They have collaborated with scientists and researchers from fields such as Insect Behavioural Ecology, Lichenology and Artificial Intelligence. Their practice is inspired by more-than-human practices, environmental observation through deep time, bio-politics, and the interplay between stability and plasticity in ecological systems.

A member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, their work has exhibited nationally and internationally at ArtNight London, Kunsthal Charlottenborg Copenhagen, The Vigeland Museum Oslo, Thorvaldens Museum Copenhagen, and Art Week Rotterdam. LAB is a former resident at the Sarabande Foundation. Recently, Louis has created public sculptures for sites in Denmark and in Switzerland in collaboration with curators from the Natural History Museum.

Previously, Louis was a founder of the pollination ecology company, ‘Olombria’, and the artistic collective ‘Material-Think-Space’

Neo Couture (2022-2025)

The project aims to enhance skills development and craft pedagogy in haute couture, focusing specifically on hand embroidery, integrating computational creativity and AI-driven tools that maintain the critical ‘humanness’ and tactile nature of this field. As the number of artisans in haute couture has dwindled since the mid-twentieth century, this project seeks to harness digital technology to preserve and enhance traditional craftsmanship. By working with haute couture artisans to collect data and insights from their expertise, we will train intelligent systems for use in a user-friendly digital training platform targeted at novice users who may not have knowledge of these rarefied and nuanced crafts. 

The project is funded by InnoHK and is led by Anne Toomey, Zowie Broach and Dr Janne Tan.

Alderson-Bythell, L., Carter, D., Geaney, V., Tan, J., Broach, Z. and Toomey, A., (2023). Agental digital materials: A fashion and textile perspective. Design Research Society, Textile Intersections 2023.

(2023) Living Lichen Clock, Public Sculpture in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, Martigny, Switzerland.

(2023) Sundby Portals, 3 site-specific public sculptures, Copenhagen.

(2022) Two Rocks Talking about the Weather, ‘Soon this will be Over’ Sarabande Foundation, London.

(2022)Primitive tools of Super-organism Earth, ‘Uhrformen’ Sarabande Foundation, London.

(2022) Temporal Tendrils of the Metabiont, Fiber Festival, Amsterdam.

(2021) Topic Talks, Thorvaldens Museum, Copenhagen,

(2021)Day Bed, Dinesen Showroom, Aarhus, Denmark.

(2020 Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Spring Exhibition | | Copenhagen.

(2019) Colony Collapse, Science Gallery, Dublin

(2018) Art Rotterdam, Marzee for Starters, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

(2018) Fashion Clash Festival, Maastricht, Netherlands.

(2018) Hayward Gallery Art Night, London.

(2018) London Design Festival, Biodesign, Here, Now, London.

(2017) BioDesign Challenge, MOMA, NYC, USA.