Excess Baggage is the first exhibition to feature examples from designer Tim Sumner’s “Paper Bag Archive” collection, which houses the world’s largest archive of paper bags, totaling over 2,500 bags. Sumner, Creative Director of Studio Summon, founded the archive to pay tribute to this most humble form of packaging design.
The exhibition has been specially curated to highlight the evolution of the visual language of various large retail brands. Also featured are several bags made for individual brands, and examples designed for a range of museums, galleries, and holiday destinations. The exhibition also inevitably features many names that are no longer as well-known, or even forgotten.
According to Dorothy, the bags in Excess Baggage offer a “nostalgic trip back down the British high street of the last 100 years” and “a reflection of a more innocent design era”. It’s a slice of social history, identity and logo design, and a celebration of a format that certainly still has its place as a recyclable packaging option.
This is the latest exhibition in Dorothy’s Firsts series of exhibitions, which features debuts by designers, artists, writers, and collectors.
Excess Baggage runs until March 27.
More information: wearedorothy.com
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