Glithero’s new vases were created with a hand from a hundred friends

‘You, Me and Everyone We Know’ is an exhibition of new works by design studio Glithero at London’s Gallery Fumi (until 24 June 2023). Led by Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren, the studio is known for its experimental approach to functional objects. While some of its furniture work has taken a more classically structural approach, its experiments with porcelain have been based on exploring the use of light and photography as design devices. Among its best-known pieces is a series of vases featuring silver gelatin photograms of hands, achieved through an original photographic process where, the duo explain, 'light-sensitive vases are revolved within a shard of light'. The exhibition focuses on this aspect of the pair’s work, now involving their community in the creation of a new series of vases. 

Watch: Glithero presents ‘You, Me and Everyone We Know’ at Gallery Fumi 

Simpson and van Gameren called upon one hundred friends, neighbours, family members and contributors, each invited to the studio to help create this collaborative body of work. The result is a series of black and white vases, each uniquely printed with a pair (or more) of hands.

‘One by one, visitors were invited to sidle their way through thick black-out curtains into an improvised dark room,’ reads a text from the designers. ‘There, holding a thrown pot carefully above their head, like a trophy, each was invited to take a slow turn through 360 degrees, beneath an intense beam of light. The surface of the pots had been treated with chemicals sensitive to light, and as the visitor turned, an image of their hands became part of the skin of the vessel.’

The exhibition at Gallery Fumi not only offers a complete view of the project, it also celebrates the community that made it possible through a photo wall featuring a hundred portraits, and a darkroom created in the gallery’s lower floor, featuring an audio by artist Claudia Molitor, who created a composition from fragments of conversations, soundbites of the vases being handled, and music. 

‘In this way,’ conclude the designers, ‘one hundred pots have become an emblem of a community.’

‘You, Me and Everyone We Know’ by Glithero is on view until 24 June 2023

Gallery Fumi
2-3 Hay Hill
London W1J 6AS

glithero.com
galleryfumi.com