Clarges, London

“Yasemen’s beautiful work radiates creativity… be it timeless or dynamic, her designs blend industrial materials with natural forms to delight.”

Martin Kemp, Martin Kemp Design. INTERIOR DESIGNER

In 2017 I was approached by interior designer Martin Kemp to produce sculptures for the reception and lobby of a new residential and commercial complex, Clarges, being developed by British Land on Piccadilly, Mayfair.

Martin asked me to reference the history of the site, with specific attention to the piccadill – a broad lace collar worn in the late 16th and early 17th century that became so popular that it’s thought Piccadilly Circus is named after the garment.

APPROACH

This was a dream to research – there are so many paintings of men and women sporting the piccadill to see and be inspired by. Inspired by these images, I drew up designs for several large-scale metal pieces inspired by the piccadill and the intricacies of lacework.

Because of the size of the pieces and the unique considerations of the environments where they would appear, I made scale models of the lobby and reception of Clarges, not just for the client’s benefit but to aid my own design process. The curved wall of the lobby, on which one piece would hang, presented particular design challenges, and I worked with engineers and fabricators to translate my initial maquette into a workable design.

At the other end of the scale, I created the intricate lace-inspired designs that complete the works from thousands of copper handmade washers that I meticulously soldered together by hand. These elements, large and small, were brought together at the studios of fabricators Inspired Metal, who also helped me install these super-sized works in Clarges.

OUTCOME

These were my first large-scale public sculptures. Considerable feats of engineering were involved both in the fabrication these works and in the installation of such large works. The client and interior designer were delighted with the outcome, and I was delighted to see how perfectly the works married with the surroundings designed by Martin Kemp.