Brit List Award: Best in British Design for OWO
When so much of the work happens behind the scenes, in the studio, it can be easy to forget how finished works land publicly once they leave your hands. Being awarded Best in British Design at the Brit List Awards, alongside ARTIQ, for the corner suite commission at Raffles London at the Old War Office, (OWO) was a genuinely welcome reminder of that.
The Brit List Awards have spent several years championing the best in British – and international – hotel design and hospitality, and it was a privilege to see the OWO project recognised in that context. What struck me most was the citation itself: the judges spoke of the works as equal parts art object and bespoke interior design, simultaneously capturing the past and present of the building while offering guests insight into London's artistic community.
Whilst I made the works as artworks, it has been interesting to see them cross boundaries in this new context. Art and design after all both draw on emotion and storytelling, even if the usual argument is that design must function, whilst art is there to draw out feelings or thoughts about aesthetics or concepts, Working with ARTIQ on this project and in this context, I found the two needn’t be separated at all – the sculptures had to hold their own as artworks while also serving the spaces, the guests, the building's history.
Sharing the recognition with ARTIQ felt right too. Commissions like this only work through genuine collaboration – between artist, curator, and client – and the award reflects that shared effort as much as it does the artworks themselves.
