RAY G. BROWN

Spiritus Mundi

8 February - 24 February 2019

Design Journal Disegno has commissioned designer Ray G. Brown to create Spiritus Mundi: an immersive installation for fabric brand Rubelli that taps into the often ritualistic nature of textiles and clothing.

Ray G. Brown transformed east London’s Oneroom gallery into Spiritus Mundi, a dreamlike environment using a range of fabrics by Venetian textiles company Rubelli.

Visitors will move through the four-storey venue encountering a series of mysterious, anthropomorphic figures. Some of the figures are lined up together and draped in shimmering lengths of fabric to create a quasi-architectural element that divides up the space; others are placed individually, as hooded figures poised to perform a ceremony.

The installation's name, "Spiritus Mundi" is drawn from the work of poet William Butler Yeats, who used the term to describe society's collective unconscious - the mysterious, transcendental source from which all images and symbols are derived.

“I was immediately captivated by the lustrous quality of the Rubelli fabrics,” says Brown. “They seem special, out of the ordinary - as if they are intended for some special ceremonial function. I did some research into ritualistic costumes from various cultures across the world, and became interested in the transformative power of these costumes and their ability to access levels of experience not ordinarily available to the conscious mind.”