Wednesday 7 October 2015

DULUX COLOUR FUTURES 16 AT TENT LONDON

There are times when amongst all the newsletters and enquires from Chinese companies asking me if I want to mass buy LED lights that something really exciting drops into my inbox and the invition from Dulux to be part of their Colour Futures 16 exhibition at Tent London was one such hurrah moment.
The premise was that four creatives would each be given one of the Colour Future trends and a small shed, and by means of an instillation interpret this trend in their own inimitable style.
I must say I was in amazing company as the other three artists/designers were Mark McClure, Anthony Roussel, and Zoe Murphy as well as the hudgly talented surface designer, Kit Miles, who was representing the colour of the year pallette by installing a dynamic vinal floor that streaked across the whole exhibition.
Above, Kit Miles' fabolous floor
Below, the space and Anthony Rousou's shed.
Below, a close up of Rouseau's  instillation.

Above, 'The Grid And Letting Go' trend by Mark McClure
Below, detail from McClures shed.


Above, Zoe Murphy's calming 'Words And Pictures' trend.
Below, a detail


Above, 'Dark And Light' by yours truly.
Below, our tassel peeking out from the dark.

I wanted to create a nightscape that used light to highlight the tones of colour darkening, and to illustrate the way dark and light affects our perception of colour and mood. I love the way the dark mutates light’s bright blaring colours into hundreds of muted dusky hues that get lit intermittently by the silvery shine of the moon and stars.

Even as a child I loved the dark. I’ve always found it a place of safety where the spaces amongst the shadows allowed one to hide and bide one’s thoughts or slumber peacefully. A warm place to hibernate from daylight’s perils.  As an adult the psychological and spiritual connotations that go with these two states fascinate me. We talk about light and dark representing good and evil, black magic, white magic, the dark arts even the dark recesses of our minds; AS Jung said ‘ To know your own darkness of your mind is to understand the darknesses of others’ but in an ever-increasing lighter world where the city’s light dims the stars and the sky never deepens past a murky violet haze the idea of the benefits of darkness are being re-addressed.



Above, my concept sketch.

Above and below, the making of our instillation.


We also gave a sell-out presentation for Tent Supertalks about our the inspirations behind our pieces with Rebecca from Dulux explaining each trend first and process of trend forecasting.

Massive Thanks to;
Rebecca Williamson , Marianne Shillingford and everyone from Dulux,
Holly Smith and Jennifer Barnes from Mischief PR
Jimmy Macdondald and the Tent team,
My amazing co-exhibitors Zoe, Mark, kit, and Anthony.
and everyone who came to both the exhibition and talk