"Timorous Beasties presents A Bird in the Hand"
2009-05-09 until 2009-10-25
Museums Sheffield: Millennium Gallery
Sheffield, , UK United Kingdom

Cutting edge contemporary design makes a welcome return to Museums Sheffield this summer with a new free exhibition courtesy of design duo, Timorous Beasties. Finding inspiration in our John Ruskin collection, Timorous Beasties presents A Bird in the Hand will take over the Millennium Gallery’s craft and design exhibition space and turn Victoriana on its head. The exhibtion is on view from May 9 through October 25, 2009.

Timorous Beasties presents A Bird in the Hand will see the designers embrace and subvert the traditional Victorian aesthetics of the 19th century to surreal and provocative effect. Completely transforming the gallery, Timorous Beasties’ brand new installation will challenge perceptions of nature and tradition. Following a two-year research project based around the Ruskin collection, the designers have taken their inspiration from ornithological specimens and Ruskin’s own notes, as well as the illustrations of Thomas Bewick and François Le Vaillant. This range of new works will be applied to everything from light shades to furniture and fabrics to create a veritable 21st century Victorian parlour.

The design studio Timorous Beasties was founded in Glasgow in 1990 by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons. By depicting uncompromisingly contemporary images on traditional textiles and wallpapers, Timorous Beasties has defined a convention-busting design style once described as “William Morris on acid”. Working in a wide range of disciplines from graphics and products to furniture, carpets and interiors, Timorous Beasties was short-listed for the Designer of the Year Award in 2005. The studio has undertaken numerous projects in Europe and the UK, including producing fabrics for Milliner, Phillip Treacy. In 2006, Timorous Beasties was commissioned to design the window display for the Wellcome Trust, London. They recently curated an International Design Exhibition in Dundee’s Contemporary Art Gallery (the DCA) and have produced graphic work for Nike and Famous Grouse.

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