Liz West has received a 2019 Festival Commission from London Design Festival to create a new work at Fortnum & Mason. Iri-Descent will be a suspended arrangement of 150 skeleton-framework cubes located in the atrium of Fortnums historic store in Piccadilly.

Clad with dichromatic film in two differing colour-ways, the cubes appear to change colour as visitors move around the atrium and between the floors above and below. There are two colour variations interlacted throughout - warm and cool - offering a pink and blue range of hues. The highly reflective film also mirrors its surrounds and transmits complementary colours outwards.

Iri-Descent forms part of an ongoing series of spatial light works based upon research into colour theory and light fields with an ambition to transform architectural spaces and public environments. West works across a variety of media, mixing luminous colour and radiant light in a provocation of sensory reactions. With Iri-Descent, she wants to encourage visitors to enage with the space in a new way, and to examine their own personal relationship to colour and light.

Fortnum’s heritage and iconic landmark location provided the inspiration for the installation. Liz West said, “I am delighted to have been invited to work with London Design Festival in the atrium of Fortnum and Mason. It is a particularly joyful commission to work on due to the passion, knowledge and commitment of everyone involved. I have thoroughly enjoyed conceiving this and been creatively challenged and finding delicious materials to ignite the work and people’s imaginations and perceptions”.

Opening 14 - 22 September 2019 at Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, St James's, London, W1A 1ER. More information: https://www.londondesignfestival.com/event/iri-descent