The RCA Presents (Un)finished. at the London Design Festival

As part of Brompton Design District at the London Design Festival, the RCA proudly presents (Un)finished. – a showcase of selected work by RCA 2020 MA Design Products graduates, until 20 September. 

(Un)finished. reflects two intertwined aspects of design: processes and finished outcomes. Visitors can expect a changing curated showcase of ‘finished’ objects as part of a traditional exhibition, alongside a workshop hosting daily residencies where designers will be seen making pieces. (Un)finished. will recreate the collaborative environment of design studio spaces that was lost due to the pandemic. 

Georgia Cottington, a 2020 MA Design Products graduate, who helped organise the exhibition, commented, ‘(Un)finished. is our response to these unpredictable times. The pandemic not only drove the sentiment behind the show but also the design; the exhibit can be viewed by visitors one by one but also through the windows of 35 Thurloe Place, like a cabinet of curiosities’.

There is much to see in this changing exhibition, and selected highlights include:

Milo by Eric Saldanha

Milo reimagines the white cane, as a tool for mobility for people with visual impairment. It  is an obstacle avoider that retains the agency of the user by using ultrasonic and infrared sensors to detect the environment, designed by Eric Saldanha.

Domestic Clay by Max Hornaecker

Domestic Clay is a collection of earthenware cups sourced and produced in location, that question the delicate system of supply and demand during a crisis. The project reflects upon the lack of material intelligence of how things are made, where they come from, and how they reach us, designed by Max Hornaecker.

Lea Randebrock, The Clay Pantry

The Clay Pantry provides a suitable environment for the fruit and vegetables. The porosity of earthenware gives the material cooling properties when soaked with water, therefore keeping fruit and vegetables fresher for longer without the use of electricity, designed by Lea Randebrock.

Second Life by Maria Ramon Vazquez

Second Life is a tableware set that contains fragments found in the foreshore of the River Thames with the aim to give these fragments a second life, designed by Maria Ramon Vazquez.

Spirulina Society by Anya Muangkote

The Spirulina Society is a set of open-source tools that can be utilised with locally available containers and knowledge for domestic cultivation of Spirulina, a blue-green alga rich with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is a plant-based source of complete protein, designed by Anya Muangkote.  

The full list of exhibiting designers: Elliot Lunn, Georgia Cottington, Eric Saldanha, Rashmi Bidasaria, Roc H Biel, Max Hornaecker, Lea Randebrock, Xiyi Wu, Maria Ramon Vazquez, Minsu Kim, Rowan Vyvyan, Roseanne Wakely, Oliver Hawkes, Andrew Scott, Guorong Luo, Anya Muangkote, Aliki Siganou.

In line with latest Government advice, visitors to (Un)finished. will be required to wear face coverings inside the exhibition and adhere to social distancing – part of a wide range of careful measures put in place to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all.