New East Digital Archive

Bliss: check out Albanian artist Helidon Xhixha’s winning entry at the London Design Biennale

30 September 2016

Discover Bliss, Albania’s installation at the inaugural London Design Biennale earlier this month by artist Helidon Xhixha, which took home the event’s Public Medal award.

Working within the Biennale’s theme of “Utopia by Design”, Xhixha explores the possibility of true happiness born of equilibrium, with an emphasis on cohesion and communality, particularly in the context of a migration crisis.

Bliss takes as its starting point the layout of a Renaissance city, constructed around a central core. Making use of reflective surfaces – characteristic of Xhixha’s work – the installation serves both as a space for interaction between people and for personal reflection, placing emphasis on the need for a cohesive society.