Tiffany & Co turns the town blue with its Selfridges take-over

The inside of a diamond, humanity’s endless ques for truth, the possibility of the infinite and the cyclical nature of life – all of these are the subjects of four new art installation windows commissioned by Tiffany & Co as part of its Selfridges take-over to celebrate its newly reimagined art-filled space in the store. Alongside windows that explore the US brand’s heritage, Tiffany has used these four vitrines to shine a light on contemporary art. Damien Hirst is probably the most widely recognisable name. The former YBA enfant terrible has used his window to explore the idea of how we constantly seeks for truth, suggesting that is a deeply rooted human impulse. He articulates this concept by weaving together leitmotifs, including Tiffany’s signature blue, the butterfly – a recurring figure in his works – and sculptures of medical packaging as a nod to his 1992 room-sized installation “Pharmacy”.

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London-based Rana Begum, whose work blurs the boundaries between sculpture, painting, and architecture, was inspired by Elsa Perreti’s famous Bone Cuff. Taking its sensuous moulded-to-the-body form as a starting point, she explores the possibility of the infinite using modular elements to create a shifting surface of colour and form. Exploring the experience of inhabiting a diamond was Jason Bruges starting point. Bruges is a Hackney-based multidisciplinary artist and designer. He is known for blending architecture with interactive design using a high-tech mixed media. Here he has used cutting-edge maths and algorithms to explore how generative beams of light describe the internal volume within the stone.

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Finally, there is James Righton. To a certain generation Righton will be familiar as one of Klaxons. The Mercury-Prize winning band burst onto the music scene in 2006 with their single “Gravity’s Rainbow”. Fame followed but in 2015 it all ended. Since then, Righton has embarked on a solo career as well as making a name for himself as an artist who combines sound and visual effects. For Tiffany’s window, his inspiration was the cyclical nature of life and how our experiences repeat but are never the same. The result is an ever-changing visual projection with a sound that evokes the human heartbeat and that will be able to be heard from the street.

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“I haven’t actually written a song in the band sense for a few years. Not sure what happened but I think I stopped being interested in singing and writing songs,” says Righton about his transition from band member to composer/artist. “Maybe it’s age or maybe it’s having kids [Righton is married to actor Keira Knightley] and realising that being on tour isn’t where I want to be right now. Anyway, it’s meant that the last few years I’ve reconfigured what I do. I only now make music for film, TV or commissioned projects. It’s kind of amazing seeing there’s more to music outside of a three-minute pop song.”

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This isn’t the first time Righton has collaborated with Tiffany, he made the music for the Maison’s exhibition in Tokyo earlier this year. Called Tiffany Wonder, it was described by Wallpaper as “a dream-liked sequence of ten interconnected spaces, with shifting atmospheres, textures and gem-like shapes” that explored its rich history.

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“It was huge project and involved multiple rooms representing the history of the brand,” says Righton. “I found it fascinating learning about Tiffany’s history and the previous collaborations between artists and the brand. It was a really enjoyable project and I loved making all different styles of music related to each individual room.” Tiffany obviously loved what he did too because, when the Selfridges take-over was being discussed, Righton was asked to create a window.

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“I was shown some rough early images of what the window installation would look like and then spoke to the creative team at Tiffany’s about the brief,” explains Righton when asked how he approached the commission. “I went into my studio and started playing what came to me with these images in mind. I fell upon a descending refrain on the piano which I then replayed on synthesisers. I then processed these to create a circular but evolving melodic piece.” The resulting work is hypnotic, with a series of concentric circles set against a background of Tiffany Blue whose undulating shapes respond to the music.

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Despite the success of his previous incarnation, it is the creation of works such as this that Righton wants to continue exploring. “I’ve been lucky enough to have spent the last few years working on exhibitions, films and commercial work,” he says. “All of these are visual projects. I’m not sure I could even do it anymore without an image as a starting point!”