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01 Oct 2025
Polish Artist Alicja Patanowska's 'The Ripple Effect' Installation of 2000 Handmade Tiles Captivate Visitors at the V&a, During London Design Festival 2025 as Part of the Uk / Poland Season 2025
Polish Cultural Institute London

The V&A South Kensington Madejski Garden has been transformed this autumn by Alicja Patanowska's installation, 'The Ripple Effect', drawing thousands of visitors during the London Design Festival 2025. The ceramic work, comprising of 2,000 handmade tiles, was newly commissioned by the V&A and supported by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Polish Cultural Institute, presented a powerful reflection on the hidden consequences of copper mining, addressing current environmental challenges. 

Visitors engaged with the flowing, field-like plateau of tiles, pausing to sit, reflect, and interact with its unique textures and central fountain water feature. 'The Ripple Effect' reflects on how every act of natural resource extraction carries environmental and social consequences. The copper mining yield of just 0.4% is symbolised by eight copper-coloured tiles scattered among 2,000 blue ones. The striking palette, achieved by incorporating industrial waste into the clay, has sparked conversations about resource extraction, recycling, and our collective responsibility as consumers. 

'Seeing so many people engage with 'The Ripple Effect' has been deeply moving,' says artist Alicja Patanowska. 'My hope is to spark a moment of reflection on the impact of our choices and our connection to the earth and to one another. I am hugely grateful for the conversations this work has inspired and believe even small acts of awareness can ripple outward, shaping a more thoughtful relationship with our world'.  

Visitors responded to the installation's evocative, tactile aesthetic and thought-provoking environmental message. Complementing the display were '5Rhythms movement meditation' workshops where the public explored their connection to earth and water through guided dance and movement.  

'Seeing visitors engage with 'The Ripple Effect' has been truly inspiring', says Carrie Chan, V&A Contemporary Programme Curator, 'Alicja's installation transformed the Madejski Garden into a space for reflection, conversation, and connection reminding us of the role craft and design can play in shaping our awareness of environmental responsibility and care'. 

The project forms part of the UK/Poland Season 2025, a diverse programme of over 100 multi-artform events in 40 locations, celebrating creative collaboration and cultural dialogue between the two countries.  

'The Ripple Effect' exemplifies the power of partnership and the importance of addressing urgent global issues through art,' says Paulina Latham, Head of Visual Arts and Music at the Polish Cultural Institute London, 'Celebrating our shared values of innovation and sustainability we are proud to have supported an installation that so eloquently bridges cultures and inspires positive changes'. 

As part of the UK/Poland Season 2025, 'The Ripple Effect' is co-organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, British Council and Polish Cultural Institute in London and supported by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland. It celebrates the shared values of innovation, creativity and cultural dialogue and will be on view in the Madejski Garden, V&A South Kensington until the end of Frieze Art Fair (20 October 2025). 

  • Open daily10.00 – 17.45 | Friday: 10.00 – 22.00 | Closes 19 October'25 | Free to attend 
  • V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road,London, SW7 2RL  

 

Please find Images here: PRESS PACK 

Photo credit: Alka Murat and Peter Kelleher for the V&A 

Media Contact: Informare PR & Communications | Caroline Knight - caroline@informare.co.uk. 

 

//END/ 

NOTES 

Alicja Patanowska 

Alicja Patanowska is a visual artist and designer based in Poznań, Poland. Trained as a potter and holding a doctorate in the arts, she creates research-driven ceramic installations exploring ecology, material transformation, and care. Knowledge acquired in direct contact with clay is crucial for her practice, which often questions human-centred perspectives in relation to the world. Her works are held in the collections of the National Museum in Kraków, the Hotel Europejski Art Collection in Warsaw, and the Shanghai Museum of Glass, among others. She is the recipient of awards including the Mazda Design Award (2018) and the British Glass Biennale Award (2015). In 2023, her installation We Are the Weather was presented at the Council of the European Union in Brussels. Her work has also been shown internationally in the United Kingdom, Korea, China, Brazil, and across Europe.  

Website www.patanowska.com | Instagram: @alicjapatanowska | Brussels project: We Are the Weather 

 

The UK/Poland Season 2025  

The UK/Poland Season 2025 is a diverse programme of over 100 multi-artform events in 40 cities in both countries. The Season will invigorate the UK-Poland cultural dialogue in addressing global challenges and will open new opportunities for cultural leaders and the next generation of artists. 

 

List of events this Autumn as part of the UK/Poland Season 2025  

  • Elusive Sense, On the Fluid Boundaries of Perception, art' otel Hoxton  
  • 'Radical Hope' Exhibition of works from Collection II of the Galeria Arsenał, Białystok (Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast) 13.9 – 8.11.25  
  • Polish Photography in Belfast Exposed Gallery, Belfast International Arts Festival (Belfast Exposed Gallery, Belfast) 2.10 – 20.12.25 Belfast Exposed Gallery, 

 

Polish Cultural Institute in London  

The Institute focus lies in promoting Polish culture and heritage to the British audiences, as well as developing collaborations and building bridges between key cultural or academic institutions in Poland and the UK. Through nurturing these relationships, providing access to essential cultural resources and supporting through funding, PCI London can successfully showcase the best of Polish art, film, theatre, music, literature, science, and heritage to culturally diverse residents of the UK. 

Website www.instytutpolski.pl | Instagran @polish_culture 

 

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM) 

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute (IAM) brings Polish culture to people around the world. As a state institution, it creates lasting interest in Polish culture and art through strengthening the presence of Polish artists on the global stage. It initiates innovative projects, supports international cooperation and cultural exchange, as well as promotes the work of both established and emerging artists, showcasing the diversity and richness of Polish culture. IAM also runs the Culture.pl portal, a comprehensive source of knowledge about Polish culture. 

Website Adam Mickiewicz Institute 

 

Plantation at The Urban Farmer by Alicja Patanowska 

At Plantation Patanowska presents 200 vessels displayed across shelves where visitors can observe them growing as a live artwork over the exhibition duration. Plantation is part of the Urban Farmer Project, an initiative by the Fleet Street Quarter delivered in partnership with Landsec and London Community Kitchen, with support from Square Mile Farms.  

 

The Ripple Effect - Project team:  

Alicja Patanowska team Architect: Agata Woźniczka  

Lead producer:  Marcin Baranowski 

 

Adam Mickiewicz Institute  

Lead producer: Agnieszka Rudzińska 

Communication: Joanna Andruszko, Klaudia Gniady 

 

Adam Mickiewicz Institute 

Directors: Olga Wysocka, Olga Brzezińska, Piotr Sobkowicz 

Lead producer: Agnieszka Rudzińska 

Communication: Joanna Andruszko, Klaudia Gniady 

 

Polish Cultural Institute, London 

Director: Anna Tryc-Bromley 

Lead Producer: Paulina Latham 

Communication: Blanka Konopka and Krzysztof Dubicki  

 

V&A South Kensington  

Curator: Carrie Chan (@carriechan_net) 

Lead producers: Catriona Macdonald (@musebloom) and Adonis Fuyana (@sayadonis)