For his second edition as curator of London Design Festival's Brompton Design District, Alex Tieghi-Walker chose a theme of 'Perfectly Imperfect', continuing on last year's honest view of design and the processes that drive the industry in its more independent and emerging practices.
The intersection of craft, applied arts, and design is what underpins Tieghi Walker's work as a curator, and this year's London Design Festival presentation will celebrate 'the experimentation, research, collaboration and occasional failures that underpin every creative practice.'
As part of his direction for the District, he has invited some of today's most exciting creative voices to take part, including Isamaya French's Studio Iron, Rafael Prieto, Conie Vallese, Patricia Urquiola, Laila Gohar, Tino Seubert, Kelly Wearstler, Cristián Mohaded, and more.
As part of the District, Tieghi-Walker is also unveiling a pop-up library: dubbed The Reading Room, the space will be dedicated to queer design, creativity and cultural history in London (36 Thurloe Place, SW7 2HP). True to his previous projects, the space will serve as a meeting point and salon and feature furniture and objects by London queer artists and designers, alongside books (curated by Soho-based Tenderbooks). On the occasion of the library debuting at London Design Festival, we asked Tieghi-Walker to share his personal reading list, and why each title is special to him.
Alex Tieghi-Walker must-reads
'I love Jack's work, both visually and emotionally. The artist is a few years younger than me, but the way he represents his life and the London he lived as a young queer man feels so distinctly...familiar? Timeless? He takes everyday materials and manipulates them with such poetry. Very soothing and satisfying.'
'Pairing fruity ceramics with hunky men is a match made in heaven. What a fabulously niche little thing.'
'Oh Derek. I couldn't leave you off this list.'
'Barragan is lately understood to have been a deeply closeted architect. And his homes reflect that in a strange, sad sort of way. The houses turn away from the street, concealing rather than revealing—one moves through walls, thresholds, shadows and enclosed gardens before arriving at spaces of light and colour. This makes the book particularly fascinating: it is a collection of pictures he kept and continuously rearranged in his own home, offering a kaleidoscopic glimpse into his private world. And so many of them lean towards the fabulous.'
'I love the way Pablo sees the world, and the way he processes it. In this book, its through ornamentation and historical pastiche, theatricality. Not necessarily ways that I experience design or architecture, but it's nice to be reminded that everyone takes it all in so differently. I remember seeing my first Pablo show at the ICA over a decade ago, little dancers skipping, posing and preening in front of a grand regency facade — very gorgeous.'
'I'd actually never seen this one before (Year of the Horse!) and it's such fun. Horses also feel deeply queer to me, partly because the horse is never just an animal in culture. It's constantly being dressed, trained, performed, controlled, admired and eroticised.'
'I get giddy when I think of Elsa's two Italian homes, and her working relationship with interiors sorcerer Mongiardino. If you've not yet visited an interior by Mongiardino (they open to the public on occasion) then you must. Elsa was innately playful and visual, and you feel that in both her work and her interior sensibilities.