The series of photographic collages produced by O’Neill were commissioned by and created in collaboration with designer Beca Lipscombe. The collages combined historical and archival images of Bernat Klein and his iconic modernist home in the Scottish Borders, with contemporary digital photographs taken by O’Neill of the building in its present state.
Bernat Klein (1922-2014) was a Serbian textile designer who lived and worked in Scotland, providing textiles to haute couture designers during the 1960’s and 70’s and later designing his own collections. Klein’s bespoke home High Sunderland was designed by the modernist architect Peter Wormersley who also lived in the borders. The photographic collages styled by Lipscombe and composed by O'Neill, superimpose the contemporary condition of High Sunderland upon its former self. Through this the collages highlight the significance of the location to Scottish design history and reflect on the passage of time, not only within the building itself but also in changing design practices.
The Bernat Klein series was commissioned by Atelier E.B. (a collaboration by artist Lucy McKenzie and designer Beca Lipscombe) and the design curators Panel, as part of The Inventors of Tradition II a traveling exhibition (publication due autumn 2016). The Inventors of Tradition II explores permutations of style in Scotland, including; ‘Casual’ gang culture and its link to street fashion; public space and Scottish style, Bernat Klein's house and the architect Peter Wormersley; football as a territory of designated authenticity and ways this can be disrupted; the phenomenon of ‘Mockintosh’: the local production of Charles Rennie Mackintosh ‘inspired’ high-street jewelry and the instrumentalisation of Scottish style by governmental cultural bodies.

Historical & archival images courtesy of The National Museum’s Scotland and Shelley Klein.