"Things start in really simple gestures" says Es Devlin of her Design Museum retrospective

A triangular bookshelf displays rows of colourful books above a circular mirror

British artist and designer Es Devlin explains how ambitious creative projects begin with simple ideas in this exclusive video interview with Dezeen, filmed at Es Devlin: Other Worlds, her first European retrospective at London’s Design Museum.

“This is literally my favourite project. A book which took me seven years to make and it contains everything I’ve ever made,” Devlin told Dezeen, referring to a companion book created to coincide with the exhibition.

The book, as well as the exhibition, brings together three decades of Devlin’s work across theatre, opera, concert stage design and large-scale public installations.

An open notebook containing handwritten notes and costume sketches — Es Devlin’s notebook from the Linbury Prize. Photo by Richard Round-Turner

The exhibition explores how Devlin’s projects develop, from early drawings and models to monumental installations experienced by audiences around the world.

In the interview, she explains how she hopes the presentation will demystify the creative process and encourage visitors to pursue their own ideas.

Es Devlin lying on the floor surrounded by drawings, photographs, sketches, models and other creative materials — The exhibition traces three decades of Devlin’s work. Photo by Daniel Devlin

“I really hope that when people leave this exhibition, they’ll see objects and traces of things which make them say, ‘Oh, I could do that’,” she said.

“It’s not a mystery. It doesn’t come by magic. It comes step by step, with attention, curiosity, work and collaboration.”

Recreation of Es Devlin's studio in Peckham — Visitors are invited into a recreation of Devlin’s studio. Photo by Daniel Devlin

The exhibition begins with a replica of Devlin’s studio in Peckham, complete with her books, objects, models, drawings, tools and paints.

“I love visiting other artists and designers’ studios,” she said. “I think it’ll make people feel something about what these rooms feel like, where creativity is allowed to happen at all times.”

A scale model of a maze made from mirrored partitions — Models reveal how Devlin’s installations take shape. Photo by Richard Round-Turner

From the studio, visitors encounter Come Home Again, Devlin’s installation originally presented outside Tate Modern in 2022.

The original work featured illuminated cut-outs of endangered wildlife arranged within a cross-section of the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral.

A circular installation filled with illuminated cut-outs of wildlife — Come Home Again returned in a reimagined form. Photo by Daniel Devlin

Reconfigured beneath a mirrored ceiling for the Design Museum exhibition, it is followed by A 30-Year Desk, a series of concentric circular desks displaying archival objects, drawings and models from across her career.

The archive includes material relating to her designs for the 2018 theatre production The Lehman Trilogy, the Forest of Us installation in Miami and the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, alongside more than 30 models of projects that have previously been exhibited in Britain.

Curved display desks hold drawings, books and models from Devlin's career — A 30-Year Desk displays projects from across Devlin’s career. Photo by Daniel Devlin

The exhibition culminates in An Infinite Library, an eight-metre-wide rotating sculpture containing more than 2,000 books that have shaped Devlin’s worldview.

The artwork was originally installed on the beachfront of the Faena Beach hotel in Miami Beach and has been reimagined for the Design Museum retrospective.

Arranged in bands of colour above a circular mirror, the books are illuminated by projections and accompanied by recordings of Devlin reading selected passages.

Devlin began her career designing sets for small-scale theatre productions in 1996 before moving into opera, dance and concert stage design. Over the past decade, she has increasingly focused on large-scale public artworks and installations.

For Es Devlin: Other Worlds, she brought together material spanning her career, including childhood experiments and paintings made shortly before the exhibition opened, to reveal the ideas and processes behind her finished projects.

Es Devlin standing inside a vivid red, angular corridor — Devlin hopes the exhibition will make creativity feel more accessible. Photo by Daniel Devlin

“I began to develop an attitude on how to take things that are amassed in piles and are somewhat overwhelming, to spread them out along a timeline and make them digestible and legible to an audience,” she said.

“Actually, these things that seem huge and overwhelming and complicated, they start in really simple gestures.”

Es Devlin: Other Worlds runs at the Design Museum in London until 4 April 2027.

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This video was produced for the Design Museum as part of a partnership. Find out more about our partnership content here.