House of Voltaire Presents James Shaw, 2022

An immersive installation by James Shaw at Studio Voltaire, from 11 May–29 May 2022

Designer and maker James Shaw explores the material landscape in a hands–on way. Well–known for his work with waste plastics, Shaw hand–extrudes blobby, gloopy and baroque forms. Confronting the notion of waste, his work offers new ways of thinking about the production of objects by creating unexpected outcomes from familiar and problematic materials.

For this special presentation, Shaw invites visitors to his vivid installation featuring a collection of sculptural homewares, alongside a film produced with William Glass with a soundtrack by Kit Grill. Entirely unique in design and form, each work has been created from recycled HDPE plastic using an extrusion gun of Shaw’s own design. A lesson in functional art, Shaw’s unexpected creations bring out the beauty and excitement of the waste material, transforming it into something of lasting interest and value.

Shaw has exhibited internationally. He has been nominated for the Design Museum Designs of the Year Award and won the Arc Chair Design Award. Shaw’s work is in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, The V&A, The Montreal Museum of Art, The Design Museum Ghent and The Museum of London.

All specially–commissioned works are available to purchase in–store and online, in support of Studio Voltaire’s artistic and public programmes.