A Matter of Things Debuts at London’s Second Design Biennale

Exhibit from the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the curator Malgorzata Wesolowska Explores Emotional States Through the Lens of Polish Design

This September, London will host the city’s second Design Biennale at Somerset House. In this showcase of international design, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute will display an exhibit for the Polish Pavilion created to represent this year’s Biennale theme, Emotional States. A Matter of Thingsreveals the emotions inanimate objects can evoke when seen in the context of historical events. The seemingly everyday objects selected by Curator Malgorzata Wesolowska can evoke feelings of euphoria, joy, anger, and despair in the Polish psyche when attributed to significant moments in Polish history from the past one hundred years. The exhibit coincides with the celebration of the centenary of Poland regaining independence and explores how the relationships to designed objects impact our memories. A Matter of Things is the result of a nation-wide open call that the Adam Mickiewicz Institute announced in November 2017. The winning exhibition was selected from sixteen entries submitted both by recognized curatorial voices and young curators, by a jury which included London Design Biennale Artistic Director, Christopher Turner. Malgorzata Wesolowska, the curator with the winning proposal, invited a team of designers, including Studio Noodi Design, Studio Szpunar and graphic designer and illustrator Michał Loba to work on the exhibition as a creative team. The resulting showcase explores the fluid meaning of items according to the place, time, language, and culture in which they are presented.

The exhibition will be presented at Somerset House, opening on September 4th and concluding on September 23rd, 2018.