IC-98 and Kustaa Saksi in collaboration
A World in Waiting

Photo: © Victoria and Albert Museum Norfolk House Music Room, The British Galleries

IC-98 and Kustaa Saksi have created a contemporary millefleurs tapestry (a pattern of thousands of flowers) that transports us 2000 years into the future. Sea levels have risen and the human race is long gone, but its effects are everywhere. The tapestry imagines the site where the Svalbard Global Seed Vault once stood. Here, seeds from around the world, forecasted to thrive in the tropical climate of the future, have sprouted into lush forests. The actual seeds of depicted plants are woven into the fabric of the carpet, which becomes a path reclaimed by nature, pregnant with the future inhabitants of Europe.

IC-98 is a Finnish artist duo comprising Patrik Söderlund and Visa Suonpää. They are known for their animated film installations, which combine classical drawing and digital effects, often depicting landscapes shaped by nature and technology. Kustaa Saksi is a Finnish artist and designer who specialises in graphic storytelling through pattern design and textile art.

Supported by the Finnish Institute in London.