OVERVIEW:
Visitors to Dystopian Bouquet will be immersed within an environment which is sensory and one which encapsulates the emotional response to a range of art forms - offering a fresh approach to the traditional gallery format and a new art experience for Melbournians and its visitors.
An exhibition about how in our most trying times the beauty that lies within humanity still shines strong. Mirroring the themes of the exhibition I'll transform Springplace into a dystopian wonderland. A perfect, bold setting to house a series of oil paintings, sculptures, mural work, and installations. I will transform both the meeting room/reading and the front and back outdoor areas into a total packaged art experience.
My publicity and marketing communications facilitated by The Social Crew will focus on offering a new experience for Melbournians and also share the diversity of the creative community involved in the project. This strategy will invite a wide target audience across a variety of community groups and artistic disciplines.
COLLABORATION
I have created these works through an extensive collaborative process involving Photographers, Videographers, Stylists, Musicians, and Performers to bring this vision to life. I will also be working with various Melbourne-based artisans like United Measures Framing, and the Handyman of Melbourne to work on the installations using reclaimed materials to help alleviate unnecessary waste.
I believe that themes in this exhibition need not only be depicted but embodied. And to embody the view that creativity can help bring humanity together, collaboration must be an integral part of executing this show. This being said I plan on working with businesses in the Metro area such as Tree Paper Gallery to produce prints, and a local bar based in the CBD to hold an afterparty.
Who will attend and why?
Dystopian Bouquet will be a free admission exhibition open to the public for one possibly two weeks (if the demand is there) Thursday to Sunday 11-6 pm. By opening the exhibition to incorporate Thursday / Friday evenings and weekends, I believe that this style of exhibition experience is one that visitors will attend with friends or family members. The audience I am looking to attract is City of Melbourne residents who will be pleasantly surprised by an event such as this being held within their district as well as people from the suburbs who are more likely to make the trip for an exhibition that is so central and accessible by public transport. To ensure the exhibition choreography is considered, guest entry will be limited by capacity, and on a timed basis. This allows us to be covid-safe, and also ascertain anticipated visitation. The opening night will see the biggest draw as there will be a live performance aspect that will appeal to a wide audience. On the first Sunday of the exhibition, I will conduct an artist talk and Q/A by myself, once again this will be free and open to the public. It is expected that approximately 5000 people will attend across the two-week period.
Funding and Reach:
- I will be working with The Social Crew to feature on websites and blogs such as the Design Files to market the show as well as leveraging my following of 8.5k Instagram followers to attend the exhibition.
- My collaborations with Melbourne CBD-based businesses will help to reach a larger audience by engaging their various established followings.
- On top of the proposed 5000 attendees, it is expected that an audience of between 15,000 and 20,000 people will be exposed to the exhibition and the contributing partners regardless of if they are able to attend or not.
- I have obtained a donation from a private entity as well as contributed a significant amount myself.
- I will be partnering with Melbourne Alcohol companies to provide free drinks for opening night.
- I am looking for funding for the creation of the temporary, reusable gallery walls that we could provide and leave with Spring Place for future use.
THE FIT-OUT
As mentioned I intend to transform the space inside the reading room as well as areas in both the front and back of the building. I will require up to 10 days to install everything. Starting with the back area, followed by the inside and finally the front.
Below you will find some mock-ups of what I intend to do.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
I would like to install an entranceway/building that allows you to enter the exhibition through a hole in the wall into my dystopian wonderland. This will all be constructed to be free-standing out of wood and polystyrene painted to look like concrete and will incur no damage to the facade of your building. On either side of this entranceway, I will drape the building in a floral-painted patchwork canvas that is stitched together and hung from the top. Again, everything will be hung in a manner that no damage is done to your building. To finish off my eye-catching entranceway within the small space in front of the building, I will install a sculpture/art installation of a character in a boat rowing through a field of (fake) flowers.
Projection Perfection
With the side wall, I plan to project a 5min looping video plus audio artwork made for this exhibition.
Who doesn’t love a good shop?
Around the side of the building to the left of the projection, I would like to set up two panels of temporary fencing to hang the small ticket items for the show. I will have this area manned at all times.
FROM THE BACK
With the back outdoor space, I plan to install a nod to my muralist background and present a deconstructed mural/assemblage work with a large painting on a wooden panel as well as elements from my canvas work into an understated installation that will provide a nice backdrop for the office staff as they lunch.
THE READING ROOM FIT-OUT
The reading room will house the more traditional aspect of the exhibition. Paintings will be hung on both the existing walls as well as constructed temporary gallery walls to be placed in front of the glass panels. These walls will be painted grey and fitted with gallery lighting spotlighting all of the artworks. I will cover the wooden floor with grey vinyl to help match the aestetic of the rest of the exhibition, which can be easily removed at the end of the exhibition. I will hang fake flowers from the ceiling to tie in with the front and back installations.
