The 3am Room: The Artists

A central part of the Maddux Creative x Fromental 3am Room (Courtyard Room) for WOW!House 2023 is the Cabinet of Curiosities, designed to encourage visitors to marvel at the wondrous and the extraordinary. Find out more about the pieces chosen for the display and their creators.

A cabinet of curiosities has traditionally been used to collect and display oddities and wonders from the natural world. Our cabinet of curiosities, nestled into the peat-coloured felt walling of the 3am Room (Courtyard Room), sitting in contrast to the retro-futurism of the curved Ligetti wallcovering opposite, is a contemporary version of this using makers that Maddux Creative and Fromental know and love. In it, are displayed various artworks, chosen for their use of mixed media and the wide range skills and crafts used to produce them. The pieces are all informed by their creators' interest in the natural, reflecting the overall inspiration behind the room.

Pictured above left, the 'Tramp Art Box with Shrooms', made from needlepoint panels - LIZZIE DESHAYES

Lizzie is a textile designer-maker and one half of luxury wall covering atelier Fromental. She grew up surrounded by fabrics, as granddaughter of textile designer John Allen, and always knew she wanted to design. She has described needlepoint as her absolute passion, and transformed this vintage tramp art box with new needlepoint panels with mushroom imagery.

Pictured below, 'Bird 3/17 Sculpture' - NOA CHERNICHOVSKY, CHARLES BURNAND GALLERY

A ceramic sculptor who describes her work as 'based on a constant awareness of her immediate surroundings as she moves in the world', Noa's artistic intentions aligned with ours in the creation of the 3am Room; 'May you remain aware of awareness'. Noa was born in Jerusalem and lives and works between Tel Aviv and London. She has completed her studies at the Royal College of Art in London, the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Bornholm, Denmark.

'Psychadelic Obscure 2' and 'Psychadelic Fluid' sculptures - BINGHUI SONG, CHARLES BURNAND GALLERY

Binghui Song is a jewellery, illustration and sculpture artist from China. In her work, she focuses on traditional craft and explores emotions and antagonistic relationships experienced throughout her lift. She has been educated in Tianjin, Tokyo and the Royal College of Art in London.

'Meadow Grass' in sterling silver and silk - EMILY JO GIBBS

'Dragon Knuckle' - ALEXANDRA MCKENZIE

Alexandra Mckenzie grew up in Outback Australia. Her upbringing led to a fascination with bones, informing her art and sculpture, which is informed by the bones of animals and humans. Alexandra came to London to learn figure sculpture, has also studied bioarchaeology in Spain and Croatia, forensic anthropology in Hawaii, and is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropology Institute of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

'The London Bouquet in Funnel' - BRIDGET BAILEY

Central to milliner and textile artist Bridget Bailey's pieces are the processes of intricate making, and she is inspired by things that she observes from her allotment in Dulwich, London. Her work explores life, growth and death in nature, and the use of different materials and techniques. She studied textiles and millinery for Jean Muir and co-founded the Bailey Tomlin millinery brand, before beginning her more recent practice as an artist. To create this piece, Bridget used embroidery and millinery techniques.

'The Fly' - BRIDGET BAILEY

This piece is created with textile and embroidery techniques, and is a direct reflectiion of things that could be found in the natural world, existing alongside slime moulds and peat bogs.