Hasta La Ideas

Installation view of The Right Kind of Wrong at Mother ad agency in London

Opening tomorrow night at Mother ad agency in London is an exhibition by graphic artist Anthony Burrill and product/furniture designer Michael Marriott.

The exhibition is held in the enormous entrance space of The Biscuit Building, where Mother’s offices are based, and this untraditional gallery space in fact influenced the way the work developed. “It’s quite a difficult space to show work in,” explains Burrill. “I thought it would be good to do something architectural. I’ve always like Michael Marriott’s work, so I asked him to work on it with me.”

The duo have created a freestanding sculptural piece, which Burrill describes as being an mixture of a “mobile shed” and a “chalet”. “It feels quite outdoorsy, as if it should be on a beach,” he continues. The sculpture is created using a range of materials, including rope, potted plants, and lots of wood, and also has laser cut details of the large text and simple graphic shapes that will be recognisable to fans of Burrill’s work.

“The text refers to the idea of truth,” continues Burrill. “It’s about the truth of materials, not disguising what things are made out of.” Conscious of the environmental times we live in, Burrill and Marriott set out to use as much of the materials as possible, and to waste nothing.

The theme of truth was also somewhat inspired by the exhibition’s setting in an advertising agency. “[The sculpture] feels a bit like a seige tower or Trojan Horse, and advertising doesn’t always deal with the truth all the time,” Burrill says. “There’s lots of layers to it.”

The Right Kind of Wrong is on show Mother until February 6. Visits must be booked by appointment – call 020 7739 8985. Burrill and Marriott’s sculpture will also be on show at this summer’s Village Fete at the V&A.