Spheres was a collaboration with designer Tom Dixon to produce the first retrospective of his work.

Dixon has had enormous influence on British design throughout his 15 year career, culminating in his current position as Head of Design at Habitat where he finally has the opportunity to influence a significant number of British homes.

From the first pieces he created for Creative Salvage, the company he established with Mark Brazier-Jones, Dixon's work has been defined by a sense of play and a desire to re-work traditional materials and manufacturing processes for a contemporary audience. Perhaps a result of his working methods, Dixon has often chosen the curve, and by extension, the sphere as the form for his design. Spheres explored this love of the curve, showing pieces from Creative Salvage to Space Studio, Eurolounge to Habitat. Curated by Tom Dixon, the exhibition also celebrated the particular appeal of the sphere, drawing on found objects and the work of peers and contemporaries to illustrate ways in which it has, and continues to influence British design. Focusing on new designers, the exhibition included Hikaru Noguchi, Ross Menuez, Emily Jo Gibbs, Bump, Sue Parker and Jake Bowie, as well as more established design group Inflate. Dixon also commissioned work from the students of Buckinghamshire Chiltern University, and development of the student brief with local design schools formed an optional part of the exhibition.

The British Council also joined together with the Science Museum to develop a leaflet for the Spheres exhibition, working with the artist in residence Martha Flemming, whose exhibition at the Science Museum 'Anomism and Atomism' also touched on the artist's personal connection to the sphere. By juxtaposing archive objects with more contemporary references, Fleming illustrated the longevity of the sphere within popular culture.

Spheres launched in Sweden and toured to Thailand.

Project manager: Alice Cicolini