Discover works by the RCA class of 2020 at Bargehouse – OXO Tower Wharf

Matyáš Barák (MA Interior Design)

What have you been up to since you left the RCA?

After I graduated from the RCA, I worked as an Interior Designer at a Prague-based architectural practice Petr Hájek Architekti. In my spare time, I work on my own projects, such as Tripus.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

I am exhibiting two works. The first one is my thesis project called The Rainwater Fountain (2020), which is the result of my one-year experimentation with materials within the Interior Matter platform under the guidance of Ian Hunter. It is a modular system combining aspects of product design, interior design and architecture. When it rains the rainwater is collected, filtered and disinfected by selected materials which ensure its drinkability.

The second is my first solo project after my graduation – sitting furniture Tripus (2021) – which was born during the pandemic and responds to the need for safer public spaces. The Tripus modular furniture was designed to create a new kind of landscape in a public space which helps individuals maintain their personal space, with VR elements.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

My programme taught me a lot about the importance of dialogue – not just about dialogue between the new and the old, or present and the future, but mainly about dialogue with one another. The art of dialogue is an ability that, if mastered, will lead us to a better future.

Adalberto Lonardi (MA Interior Design)

What have you been up to since you left the RCA?

I’ve looked at opportunities for my creative practice to grow and help local communities of young and older people. I started developing a series of public artworks which talked about unity and inclusivity involving the community. Part of this work includes participation in a satellite event at Venice Biennale, two large scale murals for Kensington and Chelsea Art Week and a window installation for the Nine Elms Art Trail. I was also shortlisted for the Dulwich Picture Gallery and Tessa Jowell Health Centre art project. At the same time, I have been involved in social work supporting elders and minorities as an age well officer at the Katherine Low Centre and young students as associate lecturer at the London College of Communication (UAL).

I am also currently curating an exhibition titled The Things that Matter in Life at the RCA Dyson Gallery. The show is created for and with the elders of Katherine Low Settlement in Battersea and showcases the work the artists developed during drawing and painting workshops I led over the past few months.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

I am presenting a retrospective of my works on a journey from my RCA graduation to more recent public artworks, community engagement projects and design objects. I am showcasing ten limited edition Giclèe prints, which were part of my RCA MA thesis project, United Generations. The illustrations tell the story of Arcadia, a futuristic intergenerational community at the Golden Lane Estate in London. The series of drawings is the outcome of an iterative layering process which includes hand drawings, computer rendering and creative software.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

The Interior Design programme and my Interior Futures platform tutor, Jenny Jones, changed my perspective on how to approach a project in a truthful and meaningful way. I rediscovered how to trust my instinct, to dare and to find a deeper connection with my work and the context I’m working in. I learned to go over aesthetics and research the essence of what I want to do and why I want to do it – to think bigger and create my space in the art and design world. I found a strong interest working in the social care sector and more specifically with the elders, thanks to the RCA Community Engagement Programme and Katherine Low settlement, the charity I volunteered with during my RCA studies and where I now work.

Georgie McEwan (MA Architecture)

What have you been up to since you left the RCA?

Since leaving the RCA I have been working for London-based artist Camille Walala, where I’ve been able to use my architectural background in designing installations, sculptural pieces and street art projects. Alongside this I have been working on collage and mural commissions inspired by research themes explored in my thesis project at the RCA, using poetry and translation to re-interpret archival material spatially. I’m currently working on a series of collages that celebrate fragments of a client’s archival library as part of a commission in New York, and recently finished working on a permanent immersive installation project which will be opening in Chicago later this year.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

I’m exhibiting work from A Poetry of Fragments, which is my RCA graduate project from 2020. A Poetry of Fragments reconsiders the archive as an interactive and spatial practice, celebrating its fragmented nature and using poetry to translate this spatially into an alternative architectural methodology.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

I chose to study Architecture at the RCA as I have always been interested in a more unconventional exploration of the subject, with my practice lying somewhere between architecture, sculpture and visual art. The RCA was an inspiring platform where I could develop this ambition with confidence, a crucial step in refining my artistic practice and something which continues to influence my work today.

Lili Eva Bartha (MA Fashion)

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

Beyond Us is a continuation of my research into immersive embodied interactions – from a post-humanistic, phenomenological perspective. It combines cutting edge tools such as real-time parametric bridges, interactive machine learning and state of the art VR. It narrates my recent personal experiences combined with my unique perspective on the limitless possibilities the virtual realm offers us.

What are you working on at the moment and what do you have planned next?

I founded the Digital Fashion Framework (DFF), my female-led digital innovation studio in 2020. The studio has been working on a number of different projects in fashion, gaming and entertainment in the last couple of years. My work in design, research and lecturing led me to realise that we need to democratise virtual creation through building tools that will enable a global audience to take charge of their virtual self-expression.

DFF’s mission is to establish an inclusive and diverse network of communities within the Metaverse, where everyone can freely create and ‘be’. We have just recently closed our first funding round having collected close to £ 1 million for this immersive end-to-end creation experience, GN3RA. DFF is an incubator at InnovationRCA in Battersea, where we are working hard to launch our Beta version of the platform later this year.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

I came to the RCA to find that missing bit that my physical fashion practice could not facilitate. After the first year, I was devastated realising that this industry is one of the most pollutive in the world. The increasing awareness of its enormous negative social and environmental impact led me to almost opt out from the programme and leave fashion forever. Thankfully, Zowie Broach [Head of the Fashion programme] caught me before I did – her words will always stay with me: 'If you leave this industry, you will be like many others, giving up. However, if you stay, if you re-approach it on your own terms, and try to make it better, you might even succeed.' So I stayed.

I let go of what I thought fashion was, and let my imagination and heart take me on the most incredible journey. I’ve become an immersive specialist, seeking hybrid solutions that can reduce the negative impact of the industry and inspire others to thrive. I do not see myself as a fashion designer anymore. I’ve moved beyond disciplines – I am designing worlds, experiences, the fabric of our reality.

Rashmi Bidasaria (MA Design Products)

What have you been up to since you left the RCA?

I have been working on exhibiting work at different design festivals – Milan Design Week 2021, London Design Festivals 2020 and 2021, Dutch Design Week 2020 and Hebei International Industrial Design Week 2020. In late 2021, I was awarded a Global Talent Visa by Arts Council England and moved to London, where I'm now working with the design consultancy PriestmanGoode.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

At the time of graduation I was in India – I developed my final year project Dross in collaboration with the steel industry Southern Ferro Steels Limited in my hometown Hubli. Dross utilises waste by-products of the steel manufacturing process. While at the RCA, the project served as a proof of concept to showcase the potential of the material. Since graduation, I focused on developing the waste material into workable surfaces that are easy for people to use and accept. These new, upgraded finishes are the products you see on display at the RCA2020 exhibition as well.

The other project I am exhibiting is Kaarigari– an exploration of using technology as a vehicle to represent craft. On this project, I worked with Indian block printing artisans to celebrate the work of craftspersons. The project records nuanced body movements of the artisans and translates them into patterns that are indicative of their relationship with their craft. Kaarigari was developed in partnership with TextielMuseum | TextielLab, Netherlands.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

The amazing group of designers I met at the RCA, who I can now call my friends, have been the most influential part of my RCA journey. I was fortunate to work and learn from some of the most talented minds who shaped my thinking and process in ways that were unimaginable. As an institution, RCA provided a great platform to work across disciplines, think freely, explore, learn and unlearn.

Roseanne Wakely (MA Design Products)

What have you been up to since graduating?

I'm now designer-in-residence with the Design Age Institute (DAI) which is part of the RCA. My role takes me to the National Innovation Centre for Ageing in Newcastle which is one of the DAI partners. I'm working with a small, wheeled cargo carrying robot called Gita. Originally created by Piaggio Fast Forward who also manufactured the Vespa, the robot is capable of carrying your possessions and following you.

I’ve been working on exploring and expanding the capabilities of Gita, using the robot as a platform to consider how older adults can accommodate robots in their everyday lives in the city, and to provide a new lens that grants older adults the opportunity to re-imagine and dream their ideal city of the future.

The role is a great fit as before I studied at the RCA I directed a creative robotics studio called Rusty Squid; I feel like working with Gita is a good mix of what I did before and the design methods I learnt at the RCA.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

Alternative Intelligence is my final project from my work at the RCA. It was a speculative project where I strived to explore philosophical ideas around neurodiversity and intelligence, using design methods and physical, wearable prototypes.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

Studying at the RCA gave me the opportunity to explore my own voice away from the pressures of running a business – I was able to explore one topic in much more depth and learn tools to validate my practice.

Rakhee Shenoy (MA Textiles)

What have you been up to since you left the RCA?

Since leaving the RCA I have set up my design studio and worked as a design consultant for various companies in India and the UK, designing fabrics for luxury handbags and collections for furnishing companies, while also teaching at the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology where I completed my Bachelor's degree. I am currently working on mixed media textile art pieces, bringing together a combination of handmade processes and modern technology.

Can you tell us about the work you are exhibiting at RCA2020?

The works I am exhibiting at RCA2020 are hand tufted rugs. These are made using silk and wool yarn that was unclaimed and left behind by artisans and dyers during the pandemic. These unique hand tufted pieces were designed according to the colours and materials available, in a way reducing the strain on the textile industry. The research-related approach at the RCA helped guide this project as I was able to identify the need of the hour.

How did your programme at the RCA influence your practice?

My studies at the RCA were influenced by research-related studio practice that kept me informed about the areas that needed intervention in the textile industry. This approach has become an integral part of my design practice.