The secret garden above Hermès’ Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré store in Paris proved an early inspiration for Jonathan Baldock for his transformation of the windows of the French maison’s New Bond Street store. The British artist, whose works appeared earlier this year in a solo show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, displays a deep-rooted affinity with the natural world and the rhythm of the seasons, embodied by his bold use of colour and sacred geometry. His work is saturated with humour and wit, and his pieces, often in ceramic or textile, have an uncanny, allegorical quality that channel his interest in myth and folklore.
For the five windows that wrap around Hermès’ London flagship, Baldock has imagined a Parisian autumnal scene, creating a series of brightly-coloured hedges dotted with peepholes that offer a portal into a fantastical world of imagination. A recurring motif in the artist’s work, the peepholes turn the windows into an interactive experience, a game of hide and seek in which the passerby can participate. Baldock often takes a theatrical approach to his practice, presenting hidden detailed worlds to those who care to look closely, and in these windows, he presents a light-hearted blurring of the lines between public and private, outside and inside, real and imaginary. Look between the branches to find a whimsical cast of characters, each busy in different scenarios, with pieces from Hermès’ A/W24 collections taking on a playful role.
The installation, entitled ‘Take a Peek’, was created using hundreds of individual leaves to reflect the shifting shades of autumn. Made entirely of leather, the leaves were carefully cut from unused materials sourced from Hermès’ sustainable development department, and will go on to have a new life after the installation is removed.
'Take a Peek’, by Jonathan Baldock, will be on display until 1 November at Hermès, 155 New Bond Street, London W1, hermes.com, jonathan-baldock.com
-
An exclusive look at Francis Kéré’s new library in Rio de Janeiro, the architect’s first project in South AmericaBiblioteca dos Saberes (The House of Wisdom) by Kéré Architecture is inspired by the 'tree of knowledge', and acts as a meeting point for different communities
-
Samuel Collins’ stone sculptures capture the raw and rugged nature of the British landscapeThe British artist and sculptor presents 'Silence Split', a series of stone sculptures which presents an abstract take on the horizontal and vertical landscape
-
Houston's Ismaili Centre is the most dazzling new building in America. Here's a look insideLondon-based architect Farshid Moussavi has created a new building open to all – and in the process, has created a gleaming new monument
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekIt’s been a week of escapism: daydreams of Ghana sparked by lively local projects, glimpses of Tokyo on nostalgic film rolls, and a charming foray into the heart of Christmas as the festive season kicks off in earnest
-
Wes Anderson at the Design Museum celebrates an obsessive attention to detail‘Wes Anderson: The Archives’ pays tribute to the American film director’s career – expect props and puppets aplenty in this comprehensive London retrospective
-
Meet Eva Helene Pade, the emerging artist redefining figurative paintingPade’s dreamlike figures in a crowd are currently on show at Thaddaeus Ropac London; she tells us about her need ‘to capture movements especially’
-
David Shrigley is quite literally asking for money for old rope (£1 million, to be precise)The Turner Prize-nominated artist has filled a London gallery with ten tonnes of discarded rope, priced at £1 million, slyly questioning the arbitrariness of artistic value
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThe rain is falling, the nights are closing in, and it’s still a bit too early to get excited for Christmas, but this week, the Wallpaper* team brought warmth to the gloom with cosy interiors, good books, and a Hebridean dram
-
A former leprosarium with a traumatic past makes a haunting backdrop for Jaime Welsh's photographsIn 'Convalescent,' an exhibition at Ginny on Frederick in London, Jaime Welsh is drawn to the shores of Lake Geneva and the troubled history of Villa Karma
-
Maggi Hambling at 80: what next?To mark a significant year, artist Maggi Hambling is unveiling both a joint London exhibition with friend Sarah Lucas and a new Rizzoli monograph. We visit her in the studio
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekThis week, the Wallpaper* editors curated a diverse mix of experiences, from meeting diamond entrepreneurs and exploring perfume exhibitions to indulging in the the spectacle of a Middle Eastern Christmas
