The Crit #35: Simone Brewster
Welcome to The Crit, Disegno’s fortnightlypodcast that asks leading designers to cast judgement on their past projects.
For those new to the show, each episode sees Disegno’s editor-in-chief Oli Stratford invites a guest to Kef Music Gallery to look back on their past projects. Our guest reveals what worked best; what failed; what pushed their career to new heights; what feedback most shaped their practice; and what they feel needs to be redesigned.
At the end of each episode, to complete their crit, they’ll be asked to give themselves a grade for their career to date: fail, pass, commendation or distinction.
It’s a design-school crit, delivered every fortnight! Subscribe to the show here, or sign up wherever you get your podcasts from.
Our thirty-fifth guest on The Crit is Simone Brewster, accompanied by show host Oli Stratford.
Episode #35: Simone Brewster
Simone Brewster is a designer, artist and educator based in London, whose work interrogates the value and meaning of ornament and the politicisation of the human body.
Having worked widely with clients and institutions such as the London Design Festival, Habitat and Now Gallery, this year Brewster has become the second subject of Platform, the Design Museum’s new annual display dedicated to a practitioner who is making an impact on contemporary design discourse.
From jewellery to furniture, painting to public sculpture, Brewster’s work often employs varied visual references, such as Palaeolithic fertility deities and African diasporic traditions. Her work often focuses on Black female narratives and histories, using colour, texture, craft and architectural forms to provoke and reflect.
During her crit, Brewster talked about the importance of finding a wider purpose behind her work, her tendency to return to the same questions in her practice, and her dream of designing the Serpentine Pavilion.
Show Notes: Simone Brewster
Best design: Negress & Mammy
Worst design: Decorative plates for William Morris Gallery’s Althea McNish exhibition
Most successful design: Temple of Relics pavilion
Most impactful feedback: One of her architecture tutors saying that she needed to take herself seriously
Dream design: Serpentine Gallery pavilion
This episode of The Crit was recorded at KEF Music Gallery London.
The Crit’s graphics were created by Leonhard Rothmoser.
The Crit’s music was created by Yuri Suzuki and Team Suzuki.