For the third year in a row, Jubilee Park, London, has commissioned an art project to lighten up the gloomy atmosphere during the dark months of winter. The 200 crystal balls disguised as animal eyes that make up the Night Watch installation is the brainchild of Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner, who founded their London-based design studio WOKmedia in 2004. The project was put in place with the support of Admir Jukanovic of Mindseye, who contributed his expertise as lighting designer.
With the guidelines being loosely defined as just to create a light installation, WOKmedia came up with the concept of the animal eyes that were positioned throughout the park, among bushes and trees, or looking out of the water. “WOKmedia’s vision was to create an installation that is looking at us as much as to be looked at. Being watched and observed has become an almost accepted part of our lives. The animal eyes act as metaphors: a questioning gaze towards our secured and controlled environments with little space left undeveloped.”
Automotive lights turn the hollowed crystal balls, reverse-painted on the inside, into a variety of attention-grabbing animal eyes. Utilizing the art of reverse-painting – which pays tribute to an old Chinese tradition – is a recurring theme in some of WOKmedia’s work. Chinese cultural elements may have been influential in terms of inspiration and techniques, but having started up a production studio in China, working life as a designer also changed in unexpected ways. Mathias says: “Coming to Shanghai really challenged us, it wasn't very planned. Pearl Lam, the owner of Contrasts Gallery, asked us if we would like to come for a six-month artist residency. We love the cultural difference and especially the way of making things: very hands-on, with a lot of trial and errors. The production is more spontaneous – we can try things out and don’t have to wait until all details are specified and laid out in plans. In Europe the whole process has become very rigid.”
Link:
www.wokmedia.com
