" N A T U R A L W U N D E R S "
T H E B R I E F
This project brief was to create an exhibition piece in response to a set theme - Wunderkammer. For those that are unsure of what a Wunderkammer is, and I don't blame you, it's a German invention that translates to 'cabinet of curiosities', a 16th century creation where the wealthy would display their most prized possessions from around the world, and it would evolve into what is now known as a museum.
T H E I D E A
As part of a small team that shared a common focus on nature and the environment, we set out to create an exiting, interactive exhibit. After countless ideas and development in all directions, we chose to create a structure that allows viewers to experience various extreme environments, even when they are located in the centre of a city. This structure was comprised of three separate eggs that viewers would crouch and step into, thus being fully immersed and surrounded by the experience.
T H E E X T E R I O R
The three eggs each had a minimal white fabric exterior. This kept the experience mysterious to onlookers, enticing viewers to enter the interior of the egg.
T H E D E S E R T
The first egg viewers experience is the desert egg. The harsh lighting and warm colours immediately make viewers uneasy and isolated, very similar to how they would feel if isolated in a real desert.
A shortened clip of the audio played inside the desert egg can be listened to below.
T H E R A I N F O R E S T
The second egg is an exciting recreation of the rainforest, where LED's and carefully placed leaves created a dynamic, exciting projection of shadows all around the viewer.
A shortened clip of the audio played inside the rainforest egg can be listened to below.
T H E O C E A N
The final egg was designed to calm viewers down after the hightened emotions they feel following the first two eggs. This egg uses blue fabric with a reflective object in the roof that rotates to create an effect that resembles the surface of the water when viewed from below.
A shortened clip of the audio played inside the ocean egg can be listened to below.
T H E E X I B I T I O N
Our work was displayed alongside 17 other creations based on the Wunderkammer theme to form an exhibition that was open to the public. The feedback on our exhibit was overwhelmingly positive and visitors were amazed by the immersion and impact of our abstract environments. A short video of the exhibition's opening night, filmed and edited by Elliott Cansfield and Andrew Arthur, can be viewed below.
T H E P O S T E R
To accompany the exhibit, I created a large banner that was explained how the experience is created, where we drew inspiration from, and included a storyboard of how users would ideally interact with it.
This poster was selected to be displayed at an international design conference in Slovenia, so I created a second version with photos of the experience as the installation itself would not be alongside the banner. The final banner that was displayed in Slovenia is below.
