Johnny

The name Johnny is a nod to the British slang for condom, a nickname given to Johnny inside the Toogood studio that has stuck. "During the design process, the studio was full of paper experiments. Stitched forms draped over tables and chairs that, with a quick crumple and tug, became standing oversize paper totems. We started to call the human-height models Johnny as something of a joke, as they really did remind us of gigantic condoms. More and more the nickname informed the shapes. I loved how the works felt protective. External and internal. Sensual. Bodily. Curiously phallic and yonic." - Faye Toogood Each piece exists in two states. Unplugged, Johnny feels spontaneous yet solid, its crumpled paper bouncing light and shadow around a room. Switched on, the paper turns translucent and effulgent with warmth, taking on a delicate, skin-like quality. Sewn seam lines reveal the steel skeleton beneath. Johnny is tactile and yielding, encouraging touch: scrunch and coax the outer layer, shifting the silhouette, creases and shadows. The family takes three forms, each carrying the same tactile presence at a different scale. Johnny pendant is a hovering cloud that activates a space, forming a floating sculptural centre point. Johnny standing light, the original form that gave the collection its name, stands on hammered steel legs ending in hand-finished ball feet, evoking candle stands and reliquaries. Available in two shapes. Johnny table light compresses the same texture and glow into a maquette scale, its steel legs taking on an almost insect-like character. Across the collection, Johnny's scrunchable paper skin is hand-cut and sewn by traditional English shade makers, wrapped around a steel frame, and available in charcoal, steel or cream finish. On view at Faye Toogood Studio, 48A Union Street, London SE1 1TD, during Open Studio hours: Monday 14th September, 9.30am to 5.30pm Tuesday 15th September, 9.30am to 5.30pm