Our Feelosophy on Clerkenwell for London Design Festival 2010
It’s amazing to think that our ears can detect frequencies ranging from 50Hz to 18,000Hz, that we have the ability to smell and decipher human pheromones, that in giving us feeling across our entire body our skin is our largest organ, weighing about 6 – 10 lb.
It is surprising to think how much of the everyday world passes us by unnoticed. Our senses are bombarded with such frequency that we constantly fight back by weeding out what is relevant and what is not. But it is often the seemingly most benign of stimulus that is the most intriguing, if only we were to set aside the time to let it filter into our consciousness.
All of us can remember important triggers of our past, ones that we link to happy times; our little personal scrap book of memories to flick through during a moment of reflection. I’ve got a bit of a summer vibe going at the moment, perhaps in anticipation of the holidays. I’m remembering the feel of waves on my ankles when midnight strolling on the beach, the smell of ripe watermelon being sliced, the sound of cicadas drifting through the screen door.
But what of the mundane, the ordinary, the unexpected sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches and even feelings that we experience everyday? The familiar feel of the bus pass, the smell of coffee or the occasional drone of planes overhead. What do we learn from the things we take for granted?
The London Design Festival celebrates the vast creativity of London for a wide audience to appreciate. At this year’s festival in September Design Bridge will express the vicinity of Clerkenwell through the senses, creating a sense trail of the area: our ‘Feelosophy’. Everyone at Design Bridge has been tasked with collecting ‘Feeled notes’in a Moleskin booklet, contributing to the final installation.
It has been interesting to see progress on the project so far, to see how different people have taken time to notice the world around them and interpret their local area in various ways. The inspiration gathered so far ranges from a collection of objects, to photographs, to movies, scribbles and drawings – all with a personal perspective.
I personally have started eavesdropping, picking up on snippets of conversations, writing them down and describing the characters involved. It’s perhaps not the purest of the arts but it is amazing to hear the chatter of Clerkenwell – if only you set aside the time to listen. I’d just like to reassure the lady with the blue top, gold chain and toasted panini that frequents The Grubberie Café on Bowling Green Lane that her secret is safe with me.
In: Exhibitions, What are we up to? · Tags: London Design Festival, Senses
on July 20, 2010 at 3:01 pm
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Congratulations for this article, it’s simple amazing!!…
Thank you for remember us all the beautiful and amazing, can be the human body!
Cheers from Mexico!
Alex
on July 20, 2010 at 3:19 pm
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by LondonDesignFestival and art design london WR, Design Bridge. Design Bridge said: Clerkenwell explored through the senses for this year's London Design Festival http://ow.ly/2dQ8V #LDF10 [...]
on August 6, 2010 at 4:48 pm
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[...] past. Naturally we looked at Clerkenwell first as we’re in that mode in preparation for the London Design Festival and saw St John’s Gate from 1880. Lovely. More on the Sepia Town Blog. var addthis_language [...]