Every year The V&A commissions a designer to create a unique Christmas tree for their South Kensington entrance. For 2023 Isabel + Helen were invited to design the year's festive installation.

Entitled POWER PLANT Isabel + Helen's reimagining of the Christmas tree is a continuation of the exploration of movement and energy generation that they showcased with POWER SUITS at The V&A's Friday Lates in September 2023.

Standing at over 4 metres tall, the monumental tree merges the industrial and the traditional with the joyful, analogue kineticism that has become central to Isabel + Helen's sculpture practice. The tree is inspired by the simple candle-powered carousels that graced Isabel + Helen's festive tables as children.

Composed of an intricate system of rotating wind-powered turbines that power their own lights, the tree also calls to mind the dark skies of deep winter, with the satellites, planets and stars that orbit us.

DETAILS
The installation will be on display in V&A South Kensington’s Cromwell Road Entrance from 27 November 2023 – 7 January 2024.

CREDITS
Designers: Isabel + Helen
Stills: Sam Lort
Film: V&A