New WINDOWS For WELLCOME TRUST HQ

15 November 2005

Tsetse flies, germs, syringes and human fetuses are set to fill the windows of the Wellcome Trust headquarters at 215 Euston Road, London, following the appointment of Scottish textile designers Timorous Beasties. The prestigious commission is the latest initiative from the Trust engaging the public with science through art in a highly visible location passed by thousands of people every day.

The new window designs will be unveiled on Monday 28 November, remaining in place until autumn 2007.

Timorous Beasties' designs, inspired by the Wellcome Trust's work on the human genome and malaria, include 48 lamp shades featuring tsetse flies, paisley patterns made from germs, argyle checks made from syringes and other motifs featuring veins and human fetuses. These will hang as a double helix, mimicking the shape of DNA, spanning the full height of the 5 metre high windows.

A specially commissioned lace 'mosquito net', the most basic defence against malaria, will hang behind the lamps. The lace features a delicate pattern made from interwoven mosquitoes, microscopes and syringes. It has been produced for Timorous Beasties by Morton Young and Borland which owns and runs the only remaining lace-making machine capable of producing 5 metre repeats.

Once Were Farmers, a young Scottish animation company, are creating four films to complement the window displays. These will be projected onto the pavement in front of the windows, drawing attention to the installation. They too will take images from the Wellcome Trust collections that relate to the designs by Timorous Beasties.

Previously, the Trust's windows displayed a series developed by Doshi Levien for the opening of the building in August 2004.

See also

• Public access (Visiting the Trust headquarters building)
• Wellcome windows

External links

• Timorous Beasties website
• Kallaway media centre (PR agency)