The London Design Festival is well underway and we're in the midst of producing our daily video guides to good design. In the meantime, we're picking our way through the hundreds of events going on throughout the week to bring you our recommendations.
First up, it's one of the festival's flagship projects, "Drop" by young British designer Paul Cocksedge. Taking the form of a giant, twisted brass coin, the Size + Matter supported work has taken residence on the Southbank for a month long stint, and the motivation behind the project (which is actually rather beautiful) is refreshingly philanthropic.
Designed by Cocksedge to attract interaction from passers by, the magnetised brass surface takes (and keeps) any copper coins placed upon it - and for every penny placed on the surface, one of Cocksedge's unnamed sponsors will transform it into a pound, which will subsequently be passed on to children's charity Barnardo's.
Cocksedge told us "the piece is about interaction. It was inspired by what I thought it would look like if a giant penny fell from the sky. The main theme of the project is transformation - it's about people going up to the sculpture and realising that when they take a penny near it, it will be taken from them. The point is that the surface of the structure will transform from a soft polished brass into a scaly skin of copper, and how that change happens is what really fascinates me".
So, for any chancers out there reading this, please leave the pennies be, it's just not good form.
"Drop" will be in-situ on the Southbank until 17 October 2010. www.londondesignfestival.com
