Dezeen Magazine

Flynn Talbot transforms V&A's former textile room into colourful hall of light

Vibrant blue and orange lights clash in this installation by Australian designer Flynn Talbot, which takes over the V&A's Prince Consort Gallery throughout the London Design Festival.

Talbot's aim was to transform the 35-metre-long gallery, which was once a storage space for more than 30,000 textile samples, into an immersive "colour experience".

Reflection Room by Flynn Talbot at London Design Festival 2017

Orange lighting tubes have been installed at one end of the vaulted gallery, while matching blue lights have been positioned on the opposite end. Meanwhile, the long side walls have been covered up with rows of reflective black panels.

As a result, the whole room is washed in a gradient of colour.

Reflection Room by Flynn Talbot at London Design Festival 2017

"I wanted to add just one material and my story of light into the space," Talbot told Dezeen.

"The blue and orange combination is something I've been playing with for a number of years now. They are complementary colours, so they have a nice tension between them – the orange is very warm and alive, and the blue is very cool and calm."

Reflection Room by Flynn Talbot at London Design Festival 2017

Talbot used Barrisol –  a non-flammable PVC sheet material – to create the 56 reflective panels along the walls. They provide gentle reflections of light and movement, while offering a tactile surface to visitors.

"It's just a colour story," added Talbot. "Some people come in expecting colours changing and flashing, but I'm going against that. It's just a colour experience."

Reflection Room by Flynn Talbot at London Design Festival 2017

Talbot lives and works in London. He often works with lighting, with previous projects including an installation where red, blue and green lights moved across a faceted triangular structure.

Reflection Room is one of the many installations on show at the V&A during London Design Festival 2017, which starts tomorrow and continues until 24 September 2017. Other exhibitors include designer Ross Lovegrove and glassmaker Petr Stanický.

Photography is by Edmund Sumner.