Melbourne based Adam Cruickshank.

“Between 1995 and 2006 he worked as an editorial art director in London, Sydney and Melbourne before reapplying himself fulltime to his art practice in early 2007. This has resulted in several exhibitions – both group and solo – in Berlin, The Netherlands and Melbourne.“

via Booooooom

Lighting company Xenian are responsible for the lighting in House of the Future.
Via Freshome.

Their work has been featured in publication such as Artichoke, (inside), Grafik, Tokion, and Frame as well as various book titles like ‘Wonderland’, ‘Hidden Track’ [DGV], ‘Graphics Alive’, ‘When Arts Meets Space’ [Victionary] & others. They’ve also created projects for clients like Volkswagon, Puma, Die Gestalten Verlag, Archmedia, Euroluce, & Fairfax.

What is Pandarosa currently working on?
At present we are preparing some work for ROJO magazine’s OCHO anniversary show in Milan & Barcelona as well as an installation for another group exhibition ‘Redefining the Line: Art Nouveau & The Female Figure’ @ California State University, L.A.
Apart from that we R working on a some website projects for jeweler Julia DeVille’s ‘Disce Mori’ range & ‘Mecurialist’, a leather accessories label who’s pieces are all handmade, dyed and finished in Melbourne. We have also just finished some landscape wallpaper & vinyl decals for Domestic.

Pandarosa are Ariel Aguilera and Andrea Benyi. What made you join creative forces?
Shortly after graduating from Monash University we decided to start our own practice.
This came after a 6-month stint of going to interviews, presenting our graduate folios & being told we were too ‘arty’ or too ‘creative’?

From the beginning of the practise we made a conscious decision to target ‘creative/ artistic’ industries (festivals, galleries, dance and theatre companies, and various others) as we felt they were a unique niche sector, which wasn’t getting appropriate visual representation at the time.

We obviously knew this clientele wasn’t going to bring in the big money but we were happy to trade finance for creative control over the projects.

What is ”The Art of the Bicycle” exhibition all about?
‘The Art of the Bicycle’ showcases the many and various forms of creative activity surrounding the bicycle, extending its meaning far beyond its practical purpose. The works on show span painting, drawing, video art, sculpture and photography by a diverse group of artists and designers.
As with the Bicycle Film Festival film program (which this exhibition is a part of), ‘The Art of the Bicycle’ exhibition aims to unite audiences around the theme of the bicycle.

How did you get involved?
The curator of the show, Brad Haylock, is a lecturer at Monash University where we studied alongside him & where we also teach from time to time. He asked if we’d B keen on taking part & we quickly took his offer up.

Fox Kitchen & Bar Menu

How did you come up with the idea for “FOX kitchen & bar”?
This piece involved a multi-medium approach & was quite collage in nature.
We used a diverse range of materials within a single image in order to make the overall feel more delicate & textural.  We cut out different shapes out of vinyl & wallpaper & layered them together with other shapes & elements related to the kitchen such as utensils & produce.
The aesthetic nature of the graphics aimed to express the process of food making from raw produce to presentation.

2morrow's kingdom cargo

How did you come up with the idea for “2morrow’s kingdom cargo”?
We created a 3 dimensional ‘blank’ landscape inside a container.
This landscape was left blank so the audience could ‘categorize’ it as they wished.
We provided the audience with various ‘icon’ & ‘pattern’ stickers which they could apply & a keycard which explained the icons various meanings.
This gave them total freedom not only in application but also in the outcome of what kind of landscape they would create, poor, rich, polluted, green, safe, violent, etc,,,

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
Egon Schiele & Gustav Klimt plus many others, too long of a list to type out…

From Stockholm with Love

Inside Design Review

Race track cafe

Helping hounds of hell

Where do you find inspiration?
Drying leaves during autumn, reflections in water, cloud formations, wild life documentaries, sculpture, architecture…the list goes on.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
Hopefully some more solo exhibitions in Melbourne & abroad, creating the new 2009 program booklet for Platform Artist Group Inc., getting back into more printed based design outcomes, as well as creating further web based projects for various clients.

Also, a well overdue re-design of our own website.

Links:
www.ycnonline.com/profile/show/53075/pandarosa-aka-the-pandas

Cubby house installation piece from Sydney based architecture office Supercolossal. Their blog is also well worth looking at. With a name like Supercolossal there is no other cubby house you can build than this one. Any idea why they have a swiss URL?

Where are you from originally, where are you based now?
I was born and raised in Sydney – but studied industrial design in New Zealand as my parents moved there after I did my HSC. I worked in Australia as an industrial designer before heading overseas – mainly to travel around Italy. I decided to stay in Europe and worked in the UK for over 2 years as an industrial designer.

I came back to Sydney, Australia and kept working as an industrial designer also getting involved with teaching design at university level. I became interested in lighting and have concentrated in that area for the past 10 years.

ceiling array at Sevvva Restaurant, Hong Kong

What have you been up to lately?
The last big commercial project I did was a large scale ceiling ( 154 backlit screens) in Hong Kong. I am also preparing to make a large scale “Sharks Net” ( woven optic fibre net) for a client in Cairns.

However, I am now focusing on doing a post-graduate research degree investigating LED lighting. I am talking to scientists, manufacturers, interior designers as well as doing more general research in order to understand the intrinsic nature of this relatively new light source. I hope to generate a series of lighting works (installations, fittings etc) based on this work.

Sharks Net, Safety Catch exhibition at UTS Gallery in 2006

How would you describe your own work?
I create lighting works that use materials and technologies to express some of the intrinsic beauty of light itself. Forms, colours and textures of nature – particularly from the Australian landscape, influence me. I am interested in the experience as well as the object.

I am very interested in a diversity of technologies and light sources – I try and really understand them and express their unique characteristics. Lately, I have become more interested in LED technology. I have created a couple of experimental works with Bettina Easton but am now actually doing a postgraduate research degree in the area. I believe that we do need to consider our energy uses and LED technology has a lot to offer us in terms of energy efficiency and longevity however, it needs to be better understood as a light source.

Mathildenhoehe, Darmstadt, Germany.

How did you become a Lighting Designer?
Many years ago I entered a design competition with another designer ( Rina Bernabei). We actually won the competition with a lighting work. After some time working together, I then decided to work solo and develop my skills in this area of lighting.
I started designing individual light fittings but now mainly create lighting installations.

You manufacture lighting products as well as design installations yourself. How do you manage the creative and business side of what you do?
The main issue in the Australian context (and probably other contexts as well) is getting the right type of work continually. Lately, I am tending towards the lighting installations as it easier to deal with one client and you can concentrate on one large job at a time instead of having your time fragmented. However, the disadvantage with that is that all your eggs are in one basket, so to speak.

Glolink prototype, 2006 Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award Finalist. Ruth McDermott & Bettina Easton.

What is the creative process involved in creating a new light installation?
I will see something – a bit of texture, the effect of light on something, a piece of artwork or textile or a new technology that will get my imagination going. A couple of times I have been involved in shows where a theme is set which I need to interpret.

I will do some simple sketches in my visual diary but quickly start some small-scale experiments – sometimes it is hands on building mock-ups etc or more latterly, using 3 D modeling programs. If it is an installation I also need to understand the space it will occupy which needs some liaison with interior designers or curators.

What has been your most challenging/interesting piece of work to date?
The Hong Kong job was very challenging with its cheers size. It took three days just to cut the screens out! There are always so many complex technical details to sort out with any of my large lighting works – but you have to make it look simple,without fuss and well detailed. This can be quite a challenge.

Medusa, Ruth McDermott and Bettina Easton

Bling lights at the Establishment, Sydney.

You have works all over the world. How responsive is the Australian market vs the overseas market?
I have only just started working with overseas clients. There are always issues regarding communication. I think there is an interest in my particular approach that seems different to other designers. However, it is early days yet.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
At the moment I am reading about Dan Flavin ( American minimalist artist who created installations with fluorescent lamps). I have always liked his work but now have a better understanding about some of the issues he explored such as light source and it’s relationship with space, the way it can influence the viewer and the wider issue of our relationship with the technology.

I am very interested in contemporary art generally but I still look to painters such as Monet, Turner and Caravaggio whose work explored light (and in the case of Caravaggio, shadow) so in such an inspirational way.

I like the work of sculptors such as Barbara Hepworth and Constantin Brancusi. Also Bronwyn Oliver’s stunning use of form and pattern in her works.

My two favourite Australian patinters are Fred Williams and Rosalie Gascoigne. Both these artists have made me look at the Australian landscape in a new way. Dorothy Napangardi’s complex compositions in black and white never fail to amaze me.

Where do you find inspiration?
Primarily in nature – the landscape, the light and forms. It is full of ideas, patterns and imagery that fire my imagination. I have been fortunate to travel to some remote areas of Australia, which is something I have used in my work extensively.
New materials and technology also intrigue me – I try to keep involved with anything new happening that is why I am getting involved in LEDs.
I am inspired by the work of the artists (including those above) – I visit galleries and exhibitions across as wide an area as possible.
I am also reading academic/ theoretical writings on light. I am finding writers such as Tanizaki, Juhani Pallasmaa and Alex Potts who all discuss the relationship between light and shadow in a very poetic manner.

I think it is important for designers to be constantly aware of what they are seeing – because inspiration is all around us. They should also keep reading, looking at all types of work both in and outside their own discipline and keep talking with other artists/ designers as it all feeds into the creative process.

Links:
www.ruthmcdermott.com
Blog: www.ruthmcdermott.blogspot.com