This month saw the grand opening of the V&A Dundee, the first V&A site outside of London and a landmark development on Dundee's waterfront. We've watched the this incredible space take shape over the last 10 years, from early conversations and the selection of Kengo Kuma's design to the construction of the building and its effect on the Dundee map.
Last year when plans were afoot for the merchandising of the new museum store we were asked to create a series of prints and a range of jewellery to celebrate the space, its planes and the building's relationship with with the River Tay, the two bridges and the landscape beyond.
I started to sketch, inspired by the facets, layers and twisting shapes of the building, thinking about how we could apply foil or metallic accents to reflect the movement of the surrounding water, developing a colour palette that explored the hard surfaces and spectacular sunsets, and thinking about how we might use negative space to define some of the angles of the building.
The collection took time to take shape - more time than I expected! The angles were more complicated than I first thought and it took time to reduce the forms back to something bold and minimal whilst still allowing them to depict an recognisable image of the V&A.
But we are pretty happy with the results (and the first edition of prints sold out in the first week of the museum opening, so we think people like them too!)
The jewellery collection then developed as a response to the print diptych, a pair of earrings and a simple bangle which use overlapping etched brass on ice blue Formica and a pair of cufflinks which explore the harder edges of Kengo Kuma's design.
The V&A Dundee collection is available exclusively at the museum. We would recommend a visit! Click here for more info.
V&A Dundee photos courtesy of Hufton and Crow.