PAD London Presents an Artist’s Surreal, Tech-Driven Designs
Stepping into the Yoomoota Universe.
Dif By Yoomoota. Courtesy of Yoomoota and PAD London.
“I wanted to communicate something magically fantastical—either through science or art,” says Taras Yoom, the Thailand-based designer behind Yoomoota who initially trained to become a doctor. “The path of science felt very lonely, so I chose art because I didn’t want to be alone.” Yoom, who was born in Siberia, makes his debut at PAD London this year with an exhibition that features biomorphic, surrealist, and whimsical objects that would be right at home in a science-fiction story.
His booth will showcase objects representing an imaginary cosmos of which he is the almighty creator. In the so-called Yoomoota Universe, the artist’s website states, “You can find planets of emotions, the body, addictions, pleasures, sins, knowledge cravings, and childhood. Among the main characters are Candy Lady representing sugar addiction, Pillman symbolizing pill addiction, Fast Money, Gameboy, Pure Love, Inflated Ass, and others.”
Each chair, lamp, coffee table, and sideboard comes with a complex backstory that includes a planet of origin and affiliated legend. The Dif lamp, for example, a multipronged apparatus topped with four round, spiky bulbs, hails from Orginion, which Yoom describes as “the planet of our body, which personifies our physical interior with all cells, organs, and their interaction with each other.” On Orginion, “similar luminaires are used as talismans. They are activated when infections attack the cities during dark nights.”
Back down on our home planet of Earth, the lamp combines plastic, metal, light-emitting diodes, and coloured glass. Its elegant design resembles the body’s vascular system––a nod to Yoom’s medical background. Released in a limited edition of three, the Dif lamp would make a spectacular statement piece in any collection of interior design and is sure to spark endless conversation.
Lymphosofa by Yoomoota. Courtesy of Yoomoota and PAD London.
While Yoom lets his imagination run wild in his artistic practice, his essential aim is grounded in fostering healthier human dynamics in the real world. “The Yoomoota gallery serves as a space for self-reflection, describing our inner workings, thought processes, and relationships,” he says. “Each character or object in these artworks embodies various aspects of human beings and the world, making them relatable to everyone.”
Yoom also makes sculptures, paintings, jewellery, and interior accessories, allowing collectors to immerse themselves in the Yoomoota Universe down to the fine details. “One of my favourite works is a limited-edition chess set, Another Kingdom: Light Stage, because questions about truce are among the most crucial today,” the artist says. “I work extensively with colour and the emotions it evokes, which is why this object is crafted in pastel and blue tones. These colours, on a subconscious level, elicit a sense of tranquility and an inclination toward daydreaming.”
Fans of science fiction know that futuristic allegory is a wonderfully effective method of expanding notions of empathy and confronting issues affecting society in the present day. Never one to be satisfied with the straightforward, Yoom cleverly adds an element of storytelling to his chess set. “During the chess game, there are two types of victories: physical and symbolic,” Yoom says. “The first follows the classical rules of chess, while the latter signifies that the heroes will discover a treasure hidden at the centre of the board.”
Yoom reveals that each chess set “contains a digital secret in the form of an NFC chip. This chip serves as a digital certificate, validating, authenticating, and recording the ownership and provenance of the artwork.” NFC, or near-field communication, is the technology that enables you to pay for a coffee with a tap of your phone or smartwatch. It requires a closeness of fewer than four inches to function at its best—much like a handshake or a hug between human friends.
From October 8 to 13, design connoisseurs leap to PAD London, the international design fair poised to launch its 16th edition. Over 10 weeks, NUVO shines a spotlight on the fair’s roster of talented newcomers, many of whom are local to London, and identifies the artists and exhibitors who should be on every visitor’s radar.
