Gust of Wind canvas created using Dupont Corian

A canvas created by UK designer Paul Cocksedge using Dupont Corian surfacing will be showcased at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 24 September 2010 as part of the London Design Festival.

Hand-formed from 300 curvaceous pieces of the high-technology surface, the Gust of Wind installation is said to reflect a stack of paper that has been caught on a zephyr and lifted skywards to float on the air.

The event is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's Friday Late programme, which takes place on the last Friday of every month and often features a 'design giveaway'.

Each of the 300 pieces of Dupont Corian has been formed in a way that not only reflects wind-blown paper when in suspended form but that will also serve as a functional paper tray for those taking one of the pieces away.

Cocksedge said: 'I chose to translate the idea through Dupont Corian for several reasons.

'Because of its solidity and durability, it is often perceived as something heavy and permanent, much like the marble and stone statues at the Victoria and Albert, and I think of Dupont Corian as a comparable modern equivalent to those materials, but it also has a lightness and I was attracted to its free-flowing formability.

'The fact that I could work it by hand and twist it just like a piece of paper was very appealing and allowed me to connect with its "human" properties,' he added.

Ashley Givens, co-curator of the event at the Victoria and Albert, said: 'Gust of Wind was appealing as a Friday Late installation during the London Design Festival, not only because of the exciting giveaway but also because of the visual impact of it.

'It will have a powerful presence in the staircase location we have chosen for this piece,' added Givens.

Gust of Wind will be on show from 18:30 until 22:00 for one night only and will be dismantled towards the end of the evening.

Each of the 'signed' pieces is CNC engraved and has a unique number, making the 'Paul Cocksedge Ideas Tray in Dupont Corian' a collectible limited edition.

The Paul Cocksedge Studio undertakes in-house design, commissions and consultancy work for a range of clients and sectors.

Production ranges from bespoke manufacturing to licensing technologies.

Now in its tenth year, Friday Late is a series of themed free evenings celebrating contemporary culture, ranging from fashion to film, from graphics to gardens and from architecture to animation.

Dupont Corian is an advanced surfacing material used in a range of applications in segments as varied as hospitality, healthcare, catering, publics spaces and retail, as well as in home furnishing, furniture, lighting and decorative objects.

The non-porous, stain-resistant material is said to be easy to clean, durable, renewable and repairable.

Available in about 100 standard colours, Dupont Corian can be shaped into virtually any design.

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