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Reflecting tapestries

Benjamin Hubert’s installation at the V&A represents a kinetic movement in a continuous sine wave made out of 40,000 metallic pieces that reflect on the Tapestry Gallery.

Benjamin Hubert, Foil installation, in collaboration with Braun, V&A, 2016

Benjamin Hubert designed a landmark installation in collaboration with Braun for the V&A during The London Design Festival. The piece is located in the Tapestries gallery (Room 94) at the V&A, a special setting that houses the historic Duke of Devonshire tapestries, which were made between 1425 and 1450 and are among the Museum’s greatest treasures.

The installation has been designed to showcase the performance engineering, materiality and movement of Braun’s shaver foils. A 20-metre-long undulating ribbon comprising 40,000 individual metallic elements run down the entire length of the Tapestry Gallery. The ribbon moves continuously and dynamically in a sine wave formation, reflecting and scattering light around the gallery and is inspired by the 360-degree movement of the Braun shaver head. A system of ten LED lights is directed onto the undulating metal foil, which reflects, amplifies and traces the light across the tapestries.