PlasticFree x OMSE unveil 24 clocks at LDF 2023, insisting how ‘Time is Running Out’

The 21st edition of the immensely anticipated London Design Festival 2023 has now set in motion, making the city of London the nerve centre of global design. All eyes are set on the creative commotion that takes possession of the 13 design districts—with three new ones—included in this year’s ambitious programme. Each district emerges as a pocket of unique character that embodies local authenticity—harbouring an assortment of exhibitions, installations, talks, workshops, and pop-up shops pertaining to the disciplines of art, craft, design and architecture. The design festival spans nine days, from September 16 - 24, 2023.

The Shoreditch Design Triangle, one of the 13 design districts partaking in the design event, returns for its 15th consecutive year. With a comprehensive lineup of design-led happenings, the district morphs into a paean for the creative industry in east London, UK.

Time Is Running Out is an exhibition unfolding at One Hundred Shoreditch, aspiring to reiterate an urgency to mobilise the global creative industry to embrace a conscious practice. A brainchild of design consultancy OMSE and global solutions platform PlasticFree, the design exhibition features 24 clocks made from innovative plastic-free materials, on display throughout the design fair. "Time is subjective and forever shifting and changing, depending on where you are and how you see it. As an artist with an enduring fascination with waste and what it says about humans, it's time to start thinking differently," says Gavin Turk, renowned contemporary artist, in support of the show.

Launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2023, PlasticFree builds for a post-plastic economy. Their research and projects empower the creative industry with materials and frameworks that step away from the status quo. “We want to ignite, inspire, educate and empower creatives to embrace the materials of the future, materials that work with nature’s circularity. By combining this proof with the focus on time, we hope to be a catalyst for rapid and essential rethinking,” shares Sian Sutherland, co-founder, PlasticFree. OMSE, a London-based design studio that partnered with PlasticFree for Time Is Running Out, amalgamates strategy and design, to craft simple yet expressive brands. The studio creates meaningful brands that help businesses connect with their customers—helping them have an impact on the world and build a legacy. The two collaborators came together to create a project that interweaves their respective expertise, aspiring to move the viewers to contemplate and act.

The clocks that take the stage at the design installation are made out of hemp, seaweed, bio fibres and alternative leather, with 24 international artists designing each of the clock faces, illustrating endless possibilities. Materials supplied by Notpla, PureHempNY, Traceless, and NFW contribute to the exhibition and the sustainable designs. The 24 artists who were commissioned to design the clock face include Jocelyn Tsaih, Alec Doherty, Sofia Clausse, Actual Source, Sebastian Curi, TYPE01, Lennard Kok, and Colophon Foundry. The clock model is executed by EBBA—winners of the YAYA trophy at Building Design’s Architect of the Year Awards 2021, while the production is led by Our Department. “Throughout the project, there’s been ups and downs as we’ve strived to eliminate waste and plastics from the process. We haven’t solved everything—this is just the beginning. It has been amazing to work with material makers, acclaimed artists, designers, and architects to make the vision of the exhibition a reality. We hope Time Is Running Out will excite and inspire others to use the plastic-free materials too,” notes James Kape, founder and creative director, OMSE.

In the past six years, humans have consumed more natural resources than in the entire 20th century. The next six years are all we have to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius—Time Is Running Out. The exhibition challenges the global obsession with fossil fuel plastic and the single-use depletive culture, all the while stressing the need for more creatives who reimagine current systems. Joined by scientists such as Sir David King and safe chemistry pioneer Professor Terry Collins of Carnegie Mellon University, the designers, in the words of Kape, nudge visitors “to explore innovative and more conscious processes of making things.” Adding to this thought, Sutherland concludes, “And so today we offer a profound rallying cry to the creative industry—work with nature, not against it.”

‘Time Is Running Out’ is on display from September 16 - 24, 2023, at 100 Shoreditch, part of the Shoreditch Design Triangle in East London E1 6JQ, UK.

London Design Festival is back! In its 21st edition, the faceted fair adorns London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts including Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Brompton, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, and more. Click here to explore STIR’s highlights from the London Design Festival 2023.