The Floating Eye is the curatorial concept for the Sydney Pavilion in the Shanghai Bienale, the largest international art event in mainland China, expected to attract over 8 million visitors. Curated by 4A’s Director, Aaron Seeto, concept presents new and existing works from six contemporary Australian artists, Brook Andrew, Shaun Gladwell, Raquel Ormella, Khaled Sabsabi, Shen Shaomin and Bababa International.

In a location like Sydney, Australia’s oldest settler city, with its Aboriginal history, colonisation, waves of mass migration, shifting economic bases and trade, awareness of the natural environment, natural disasters there is no single narrative and straightforward representative space of its history. Sydney’s geography between Asia and the West results in the constant overlaying of different historical and cultural contexts. In presenting the personal accounts generated by individual artists, to mark out the engagements and the discontinuities they experience as they try to negotiate ideas of locality and culture in globalised context, all of the artists in The Floating Eye articulates a specific history of Australia; a feeling of being connected and disconnected simultaneously.

The exhibition encourages an observation of a city’s shifting references and influences, how the overlay of time and history and our emotions and sensations of a place, give meaning and form to our shared spaces. As such the contemporary artists in The Floating Eye hold strong connections with Sydney and offer varied perspectives of the city’s transforming reality observed though its demographics, environment, history, politics, geography and society.

Together the artists in The Floating Eye presents a framework to illustrate how Sydney, and Australia, considers itself within the region and highlights the layering of histories and diverse social and cultural experiences, which speak to the experience of individuals living in global cities such as Sydney.
How do we discuss the attributes and feelings of a certain place? How do we share those sentiments and effects in a visually meaningful way? In creating a symbols based solution for the Floating Eye, we are really playing with language. A short hand way of describing the key concepts of the exhibition, articulating something that might be difficult to do in words. We are illustrating the interdependence of these key words to a surrounding attitude or culture, and its effect. The symbols are meaningless and meaningful at the same time, it is an interdependence of meaning and pure observation. They become abstractions of the city. Combined, the symbols create an equation:Thing + State <=> effect/ transformed state/ an emotion, a state of being with the result intertwined by an eye – a graphical interpretation of the lens of the viewer.

// Behance.

City of Melbourne

City of Melbourne is a dynamic, progressive city, internationally recognized for its diversity, innovation, sustainability, and livability. City of Melbourne council supports the city’s world-class offerings, represents it nationally and internationally, and ensures it remains a preeminent Australian center for culture, arts, dining, entertainment, education, and shopping. Since implementing its previous identity 15 years ago, City of Melbourne has experienced significant change. As a result, the council had accumulated a range of isolated logos for various services, which had become increasingly difficult and costly to manage. The fragmentation of City of Melbourne’s identity meant equity was driven away from the core brand, and the council realized that it needed a long-term solution.

City of Melbourne asked Landor to develop a cohesive brand strategy and new identity system. The challenge was to reflect City of Melbourne’s cool sophistication on the world stage, capture the passion of its people, and provide the city with a unified, flexible, and future-focused image. The new identity needed to overcome political complexities, improve the cost-effectiveness of managing the brand, and unite the disparate range of entities (including the council, City of Melbourne’s destination brand, and an ever-growing portfolio of different initiatives, programs, services, events, and activities).

We built the branding program based on the results of a thorough audit of City of Melbourne’s various identities and its long-term sustainability and strategic plans. The audit assessed public opinion and interviewed stakeholders who included local government officials, business owners, and community representatives. At the heart of the new design, the bold “M” presents a full expression of the identity system – immediately recognizable and as multifaceted as the city itself: creative, cultural, sustainable. A celebration of diversity and personal interpretation that is both future-proof and iconic.

Jheronimus Bosch 500

flyer bosch art game, 2012

In 2016, herdenkt ‘s-Hertogenbosch dat Jheronimus Bosch, de beroemdste zoon van de stad, 500 jaar geleden stierf. Die herdenking zal Bosschenaren, maar ook kunstliefhebbers in heel Europa, onmogelijk kunnen ontgaan. De stad maakt er een tien jaar durend feest van, tussen 2010 en 2020. Hoogtepunt is de grote overzichtstentoonstelling van Bosch’ werk in het Noordbrabants museum in 2016, waarvoor veel schilderijen zullen overkomen uit musea in diverse internationale steden. Maar al komend jaar beginnen de eerste festiviteiten. ‘s-Hertogenbosch zal zichzelf voor eens en voor altijd op de kaart zetten als de stad van Jheronimus, Nederlands’ belangrijkste schilder uit de middeleeuwen. Een stichting onder leiding van Ad ‘s-Gravesande, voormalig artistiek leider van het Holland Festival en Lian Duif, coördineert de activiteiten. De stad zelf investeert miljoenen in de herdenkingsjaren. Vele eigentijdse culturele projecten zullen in de geest van Bosch gemaakt en getoond gaan worden. Studio Kluif was, samen met twee andere Nederlandse topbureaus, uitgenodigd om een visie voor dit internationale A-merk te ontwikkelen. Kluif heeft de JB500 manifestatie met een 360 graden mentaliteit benaderd en een totaal communicatieplan opgezet. Een perfecte samenkomst van conceptueel denken en eigentijdse vormgeving. Kluif is unaniem gekozen als winnaar uit deze pitch en werkt momenteel aan de eerste producties voor de manifestatie.

beeldmerk, 2009

Uit onderzoek naar evenementen is gebleken dat een icoon als Jheronimus Bosch meer aantrekkingskracht heeft op mensen dan abstractere thema’s als bijvoorbeeld “de chocolade dagen”. We hebben daarom gekozen een icoon als belangrijkste communicatiemiddel in te zetten. Inspiratie daarvoor was het samenvoegen van verschillende elementen tot een nieuwe vorm, zoals Bosch dat in vele schilderijen doet. Het portret van Bosch, wordt opgebouwd uit combinaties van symbolen van verschillende thema’s: dans, theater, design, beeldende kunst, multimedia, film, onderzoek, literatuur, etc. Deze benadering biedt de mogelijkheid om op specifieke thema’s varianten van het logo te maken. Er ontstaat dus een groeiende serie logo’s zonder dat de herkenbaarheid in het geding is.