LONDON.- From 16 September to 25 October 2026, Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London presents process, a free exhibition exploring what happens between an initial idea and a finished piece of work.

Bringing together work by recent Central Saint Martins graduates across art, design and performance, process looks beyond polished final outcomes to reveal the discoveries and experiments that shape creative practice.

The work on display explores the non-linear creative process, where ideas can shift direction through unexpected discoveries or new ways of working. process reveals how ideas develop and transform through the act of making.

Among the projects on display, ‘Xero Cool: How to Grow a Refrigerator’ by MA Biodesign graduate Audrey Levy, is a soft, cocoon-like fridge made from bacterial cellulose xerogel, a lightweight, naturally compostable material grown from bacteria. The project explores an alternative to conventional refrigeration using solar thermal energy, challenging how we think about food and domestic technology.

Francesca Reynolds’ 'A Series of Totemic Objects' transforms windfall wood collected from Berkshire woodland into sculptural forms using natural dye, surface patterning and woodworking. The sawdust produced in the making process is then used to create new totems.

Other works include Lila McRae’s 'Portable Homelands', a collection of woven vessels inspired by the small objects that make unfamiliar places feel like home, and Sam Feltham’s 'Contemporary History: Thames Bone China', a material investigation creating ceramics from historical waste found along the River Thames. Xi Li’s 'Chromatic Relics' transforms surplus pigments from artwork restoration into gemstone-like forms, developed through a collaboration with Tate Britain.





Together, the projects capture the central idea behind process: that creative work often develops through unexpected shifts in material, research and thinking. The exhibition design and curation also reflect the creative process - the gallery space is treated as a continuous curved surface, with sculpted, curving partition walls bridging the two gallery entrances to create a physical metaphor for a non-linear practice.

A public programme runs alongside

process with talks, workshops and school visits developed around the exhibition's themes. The programme includes felt character-making workshops for school groups, weekly school visits and activity as part of Vision Festival, a three-day neighbourhood-wide programme across King's Cross presented by Town Hall in partnership with leading cultural, scientific and academic institutions in the area.

“Most exhibitions focus on the finished product – what makes it onto the gallery wall. process goes beyond this, exploring everything that usually stays behind the scenes: the first ideas, wrong turns, experiments, problems and decisions that shape how a piece of work comes together. In doing so, the exhibition gives visitors a different way of engaging with art and design – encouraging them to look at the work not just as a finished object, but as part of a creative journey, and perhaps reflect on their own processes along the way.

The exhibition brings together work by recent CSM graduates across art, design and performance, offering an honest look at the different ways ideas develop and change. It creates an opportunity to celebrate experimentation and imperfection, while showing that there is rarely a straight line between an initial idea and a finished piece.” -- Mia Cormack, Creative Producer: Gallery Exhibitions & Events, Central Saint Martins, UAL