Ubiquitous, cheap and light, plywood is the focus of an exhibition opening at the V&A, London, this summer. The focus on one particular material is eminently justified: these glued layers of board can be found everywhere, from WWII aeroplanes to the IKEA shopfloor — and many places in between. In this respect, the V&A take a profitably social-historical approach. Despite being pervasive in everyday lives, plywood was much maligned in its early days, and was often disguised to resemble high quality timber. It has not, therefore, received much in the way of scholarly or curatorial attention until now.