Every year, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London commissions a Christmas tree-inspired artwork to deck its halls. This time it’s the turn of designers Isabel Gibson and Helen Chesner, who work under the moniker Isabel + Helen. The duo have adorned the museum’s Cromwell Road entrance hall with a four-metre-tall kinetic sculpture titled Power Plant (until 6 January 2024). Repurposed propellors and fans power a system of lights that turn in slow orbit: a nod, perhaps, to the V&A’s beginnings as a home to both the sciences and the decorative arts – it opened in 1852 as the Museum of Manufactures – while its movement recalls the orbit of planets and those festive centrepieces in which a candle’s heat rotates a chime-laden carousel. Find out more on the V&A’s website.
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ISABELHELEN_VA_0261.jpg?resize=790%2C1185)
Power Plant (2023), Isabel + Helen. Photo: Sam Lort Studios
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ISABELHELEN_VA_0309.jpg?resize=790%2C1184)
Power Plant (2023), Isabel + Helen. Photo: Sam Lort Studios
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/VA-Christmas-Tree-Installation-2023-by-Isabel-Helen-2.-Photography-by-Sam-Lort-Studios-LEAD-1.jpg?resize=790%2C527)
Power Plant (2023), Isabel + Helen. Photo: Sam Lort Studios
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It’s time for the government of London to return to its rightful home