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Ventricle: Giant, heart-shaped installation commissioned by the Southbank Centre for the Festival of Love

Ventricle is a two-part installation that was commissioned by the Southbank Centre in London, and built by the New York-based agency, SOFTlab, for the Festival of Love. The installations recall the heart – "a symbol that has been used for many centuries and in many cultures to represent love."

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Via [Behance](https://www.behance.net/gallery/41414617/Ventricle) | All images copyright of SOFTlab

Via Behance | All images copyright of SOFTlab

Along with the chambers of the heart, the installations are a modern interpretation of the hanging gardens of Babylon, a place of many cultures and languages, and also of Eden.

The pair of structures are gravity-formed and hang in the double-height spaces on either side of the Royal Festival Hall. Each lightweight vessel has been crafted in aluminium and is clad in 3M's Solar Mirror Film.

A spokesperson for SOFTlab explains: "The film is typically applied to photo-voltaic panels to increase the sunlight they receive. In this case, we are taking advantage of the sunlight coming through the adjacent glass walls to use the film's ability to refract and cast light.

"The net-like hanging structures refract the light casting a woven landscape of colour into the interior of the Southbank Centre. Through the combination of entwined geometry and light, the installations are designed to create a visual vibrancy that comes from the embrace of geometry, materials, and light.

"Like the weaving of the many cultures found in London and around the world the structures are a reflection on the idea that working together through love and by embracing our differences leads to unimaginably wonderful results."

Iridescent net-like heart-shaped installation suspended from ceiling in double-height gallery space, casting colourful refracted light onto white interior walls and floor below
Modern brutalist building with large glass windows at the Southbank Centre, with people walking through an outdoor plaza beneath cloudy skies
Ventricle installation displayed in storefront window with illuminated heart-shaped structure visible through glass panels at the Southbank Centre
Ventricle installation suspended from ceiling with iridescent net-like structures casting colourful refracting light patterns across a double-height interior space with stairs and viewing platforms
Ventricle installation's interior showing iridescent aluminium mesh chambers with geometric patterns refracting colourful light through Solar Mirror Film cladding
Colourful geometric installation hanging from ceiling in double-height gallery space, casting rainbow patterns through refracted light onto walls and floor below large windows
Ventricle installation hanging from ceiling with iridescent mesh cladding refracting colourful light patterns across the interior space
Iridescent net-like sculpture suspended from ceiling, clad in reflective film that refracts natural light into colourful geometric patterns across its surface
Interior view of Ventricle installation showing colourful net-like structure with refracted light casting prismatic patterns across the aluminium and mirrored film surfaces
Colourful net-like installation with aluminium and reflective film hanging in front of floor-to-ceiling windows, casting rainbow patterns of refracted light onto the interior space
Iridescent heart-shaped installation with reflective mesh cladding suspended from ceiling, casting coloured light patterns across double-height interior space with stairs and visitors below
Iridescent aluminium net structure with intricate diamond patterns refracting coloured light inside the Royal Festival Hall
Giant heart-shaped Ventricle installation with reflective aluminium mesh casting coloured light patterns inside the Southbank Centre's double-height space
Ventricle installation viewed from below, showing its geometric net-like structure clad in iridescent Solar Mirror Film refracting green, blue and pink light across the ceiling
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