Bethan Laura Wood’s Latest Collection for Nilufar Sparks Curiosity and Conversation

Bethan Laura Wood’s latest collection, like much of her work to date, focuses on the boudoir (and the objects found there) as well as the dialectic between nature and the manmade. Meisen also introduces some new themes and fixations to her repertoire, from entomology to East Asian cabinetry—a potpourri of influences that results in visual exuberance and uniqueness. The series began life as an investigation into handles, which became jewelry in Wood’s hands. The beguiling front patterns of the short and tall cabinets derive from both the wood grain itself as well as meisen kimono fabric and the ikat weaving process used to produce its unique feathered coloration. The cabinets’ overall forms, meanwhile, recall the legs and antennae of crickets and forewings of certain beetles.