Wang and Söderström stop time in new Selfridges window display

Experimental duo Wang & Söderström have cemented themselves as the go-to creatives for work which merges both digital and physical materials, objects, explorations and fabrications. In London, there is now the opportunity to see their work in a real-life environment as the duo has designed a window display for retailer Selfridges, evaluating time as a luxury product in Time Warp: The Ultimate Luxury is Time.

Designing four windows for Selfridges, Anny and Tim who make up Wang & Söderström, explore alternate narratives in each, investigating time through abstract sculptural imagery. The first is Frozen Time, a gravity-defying hanging lopsided table where the items scattered on the table “neither decline or remove,” fixed in a moment of almost falling. This is followed by Slow Motion which plays with the length of time, using digital and physical objects placing an emphasis on layers. “As the passage of time recedes to a crawl, we perceive how the unnoticeable layers of reality vibrate, hum, and revolve all around, making the imperceptible more vividly apparent than ever,” the duo explain.

The third continues experimenting with time’s capacity to fluctuate in Fast Forward using jaunting, leaning sculptures to represent “speeding past the dullness of everyday routine and slowing down for the important things”. The final window is Parallel Dimensions, featuring a large curved wall altering the impression of space representing a “vast variety of dimensions, every time, place and person have their altered reflection,” pushing “the boundaries of time even further, as the warped reflections represent alternate versions of reality, created through time loops.”

To create these four scenarios Anny and Tim began by asking themselves questions: “What would we choose to do if we were given those abilities to control time?” for instance, or “Who would they be given to and what would be the consequences of using them?” From there, the duo gained a perspective of time, one “that spans from the small adjustments that every person would make to change their lives, to a much broader context,” they explain. “Imagine if we could slow down time worldwide, affected by issues that require very quick responses, such as famine or disease?”

Wang and Söderström admit that Time Warp doesn’t provide the answers to such as hypotheses, but encourages those walking down Oxford St to “consider a different reality, and to reflect on what we do with the time that is given to us,” they propose. “_Time Warp_ discusses the luxury of time, by means of the influence it provides over our own lives, and it raises questions about our priorities and desires as individuals, as well as members of a community.”

Time Warp: The Ultimate Luxury is Time will be on display at Selfridges until the end of June.