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A video interview with "designer of ruses" Ilona Gaynor

Date
17 September 2014

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Of all the designers involved in this year’s Design Museum Designers In Residence, Ilona Gaynor is arguably the most complex to engage with. Her work is often defined and described by what it isn’t rather than what it is, and she herself told us in an interview that she hoped visitors wouldn’t be disappointed “about not seeing a chair on a plinth” when they went to the show.

Responding to the theme of disruption, Ilona has created a narrative based around a fixed National Lottery Draw involving weighted lottery balls. But her work is actually about legal process as ritual and theatre which has been adapted to suit the entertainment age – ideas that seem particularly relevant in light of the media circus around the Pistorius case.

As broadcast partners we have produced a series of video interviews which are on show at the exhibition, and here is Ilona’s film.

Designers In Residence runs until 8 March 2015.

A person with long dark hair and thick black glasses sits on a set of wooden stairs. They wear a black long-sleeved top and black trousers, looking towards the camera.
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Cat Garcia: Ilona Gaynor studio shots

A person holds a small, grey model of a shipping container over a white desk. In the background, a laptop, a computer mouse and a stack of books are visible.
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Cat Garcia: Ilona Gaynor studio shots

A plastic container filled with a jumbled pile of tiny plastic human figures. The figures are dressed in various everyday clothes and are tangled together in a chaotic heap.
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Cat Garcia: Ilona Gaynor studio shots

A person with long brown hair sits at a white desk, working across two computer screens. The desk is cluttered with books, stationery and a red mouse mat.
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Cat Garcia: Ilona Gaynor studio shots

An exhibition display featuring a white partition wall and bright green stepped seating on a wooden floor. A poster on the wall reads “OBJECTION!!!” next to a small screen with headphones.
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Luke Hayes: Ilona Gaynor at Designers In Residence 2014

A white 3D model of a courtroom scene featuring small black figures. A crest and the words “Crown Court” are printed on the back wall.
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Luke Hayes: Ilona Gaynor at Designers In Residence 2014

An art installation featuring two framed photographs hanging on a white gallery wall. Below them, dozens of white numbered balls are scattered across a low white plinth.
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Luke Hayes: Ilona Gaynor at Designers In Residence 2014

We are excited to present a social evening with this year’s Designers in Residence and Special Guests on Tuesday 14 October. Come along to meet the designers and find out more about their interests and working methods through informal presentations, followed by drinks and discussions. Tickets cost £14 (£10.50 students) and includes entry to the show. Find out more here.

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About the Author

Rob Alderson

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Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

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