artInstallation

BOOGIE BRAIN SERIES – Sonia Khan (with collaborator Dexter Vandersall fo ‘IRL to URL’)

The Boogie Brain Series is comprised of three animations: ‘Burning Bombs: and ode to Bleecker’, ‘IRL to URL’ & ‘Dancing on celluloid’ 

Sonia and Dexter live and work together in Manhattan, New York. Both work to test the boundaries of image, sound and video production through analog and digital experiments. Sonia predominantly works by manipulating found imagery: reworking narratives, questioning such artefacts of spectacle and negotiating the fine line between fact and fiction. Dexter orchestrates alternative interactions between technology and the human body through creative code and its translation into three dimensional installation. They have come together most recently for the animation ‘IRL to URL’ in which artificial intelligence has been used to produce thousands of fake portraits. A crowd that never existed.

@soniak.jpg // @dexters_____lab // https://sonia-kahn.format.com

artInstallation

‘Brain Blub’ by iiish

iiish is the creator of Blub, she makes squishy and colourful solution for the unnecessary need to make your space into one Dr Seuss would be proud of.

Brain Blub is a further exploration of the world of Blub, It will be a comfy womb to relax and dream. A soft sculpture that is a vision for the eyes and a comfort for your bums.

Blub

Verb (to blub)

  1. The act of squidging something really squashy. “I blubbed that lobe”

Noun (a blub)

  1. An abstract form that holds an organic shape that is bulbous and sensual. “ooooooo look at that blub.”

 

artInstallation

BUS STOP – Laila Laurel, Robbie Crace & Lily Monsey

Laila, Lily and Robbie all studied Design & Craft at Brighton and never left, so now live together in a slightly confused house of wonky stools and DIY dreams. They are all big lovers of collaborative making and have a strong emphasis on humour and community in their individual practices which has influenced our installation. They are creating a playful riff off the mundane British bus stop, featuring familiar elements and a touch of the absurd. They hope people will enjoy lounging in the space and are later reminded of brighter, sunnier times whilst they’re waiting for the 26a in the mid November drizzle.

 

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COME TOGETHER – Josephine Chime

Josephine Chime is an East London-based mixed media artist transgressing ideas of accepted beauty through the deconstruction of the body. The strong cord connecting her work is visual analysis of the onslaught of female homogeneous images and how technology shapes the vision and ideals of what is desirable.

Her creative practice moves between art and design, teaming with industry clients creating installations, products and illustrations for Gilles Peterson, Boiler Room, Havana Club and British Council to working with a diverse range of schools using art workshops as an expressive healing tool.

Come Together is the antithesis to keeping a distance, an installation to encourage being together. Reintroducing tactileness in a way that is joyous instead of forceful with patterns and words adorning the deckchairs speaking of thankfulness and human connection. The super size deck chairs invites sharing of space, cosying up against one another while exchanging stories, resting in the joy of a special moment or a group relaxation. Come Together is a visual stimulation to elicit joy and remembrance of carefree togetherness.

josephinechime.cargo.site // @jaccartist

 

artInstallation

C&S – Sydney Heath & Charlie Murchinson

Charlie is a creative attempting to make from observing the torrents of happenings coming down from the peak of the cyber. Sydney explores monsters, myths and technology and how these things exist in our current climate.

“With tech entangled into our nervous systems, there is not much space left in mind or concrete where tech doesn’t harvest in utmost efficiency. This great collision of mind, matter and digital substance is where we place our viewing platform and make notes for our piece. We have a vision to create corridors of hectic colour, imagery and generally visual sensory bombardment.” The space will have several walls displaying imagery of the modern, inter-connected, hyper-active, quick consuming world. Hues of the news intertwined with internet garbage, as the line between the two dissipated a long time ago with the birth of “the wall” (Facebook). Giving the images and shapes a somewhat minor fictional functionality, these images will fuse together in a theme similar to the workings of our machines, with circuitry and ethereal connections we don’t quite understand but rely on. 

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DANCING LANTERN – Annie-Rose Fiddian-Green

British artist Annie-Rose’s painting practice strives to capture a sense of ‘aliveness’ be that from humans, trees or abstract space. Whatever she makes, her work follows her deep connection with the earth, the dynamism of gestural mark-making and an emphasis on motion and light. Working from life as much as possible, she is often found drawing in woodlands or painting portraits in her cosy rural studio. Annie completed her BA Fine Art degree at City and Guilds of London Art School in 2018.

This will be Annie-Rose’s largest installation yet, incorporating her love of colour, dynamic drawing and ambient lighting. The painting will evoke imagery related to harmony with nature, bodily freedom and the coming together of people of all colours and creeds in joy and celebration, especially after this past year of separation. 

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DANCING SCULPTURE – Sarah Lynch-Jones, Maddie Banwell, Olivia Wiles. Initial designs & concept // Initial Concept: Studio Hotmess

Under the heat of the daytime sun, the dancing sculpture provides shade with their straw skirts. As the sun moves around the dancer, the people sheltering from the sun would be encouraged to move with them, finding the shade that they provide. At night, their gestural human forms become visible through their skirts as they are lit with neon flex providing a focal point for orienting yourself. The sculpture is handmade, very colourful and moves with the wind in a sentient manner, making them feel alive too and providing interaction & connection with festival goers. They will be ambitious tall structures, made using natural materials and reused timber where possible, and might just be involved in some immersive performance.

Installation

Drift off by Eat Your Own Hands

EYOH are five 2nd year Architecture Students at the Bartlett school of Architecture, who are interested in exploring different areas of design, be that from buildings or artworks to a more environmental awareness. They make challenging designs to create unique experiences.

In Drift Off colourful meshy fabric panels provide an experience both from far away and within. With subtle glimpses of openings beyond this translucent wall, festival goers can brush their way through the fabric to the inside or walk through it. Enjoy endless combinations of colour from different viewpoints that will constantly shift in the breeze and changing light of the day.

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‘Floom’ by Charlie Boyden

Floom is part of an ongoing investigation that aims to rethink the narrative and purpose of ordinary objects. By day you see floating flooms but at night these tubular forms begin to glow with ambient light. This strange space invites people to sit, interact and relax.

Charlie Boyden is the lead designer on Floom, working with Jack Boyden and Daniel Beaven as a part of Works in Process, a collective that showcases works that visualise the possibilities of materials, objects and narrative, through process heavy solutions.

In his work Charlie breaks things, make things and fixes things, to explore objects, experiences and materials. With a degree in Interaction Design, his work verges on the edge of sculpture, design and fine art and aims to challenge function in the objects of our everyday lives.

 

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‘Follow Your Heart’ by Josephine Chime

Josephine is an East London based mix media artist transgressing ideas of accepted beauty through the deconstruction of the body. The strong cord that connects her work is the visual analysis on the onslaught of female homogeneous images and how technology shapes the vision and ideals of what is desirable. Her creative practice moves between art and design, teaming with industry clients creating installations, products and illustrations for Gilles Peterson, Boiler Room, Havana Club and British Council to working with a diverse range of schools using art workshops as an expressive healing tool.

Follow Your Heart is about the personal journey to achieve hopes and dreams as opposed to society’s pressure of what is expected of you. Drawing from feeling that life can be a labyrinth where you feel lost trying to find your way, the installation is a large colourful screen where festival goers move the heart along the paths on the board to connect to the women’s chest. On the flipside is an audience blackboard this welcomes all to share their thoughts and reactions to Follow Your Heart .

 

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FORUM MURAL – Alice Humphreys

Alice is a visual artist who works with prints, murals, animation and illustration. In her work, she looks to blur the line between reality and imagination. She mixes both organic and geometric shapes, and gathers inspiration from a wide variety of things such as storytelling, architecture, bored games, sound and the human form. She brings her big ideas and skills to Brainchild 2021 to create a bright and beautiful backdrop for The Forum.

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HOLD by ORLA

ORLA is an interdisciplinary artist and maker . Her practice explores themes surrounding human emotion, behaviour and connection; often expressing concepts through a combination of image and text. 

With HOLD, ORLA is collaborating with friend and clothing designer, Itiya Stawksi – bringing Brainchild a soft, comfortable and stimulating textile space for contemplating connection or to simply be held by. Bloated cushions and adjustable strip curtains are painted with words and images from the artists journals and drawings, offering prompts to be engaged with on the subjects of intimacy, connection and community.

ORLA // https://orlacarolin.wixsite.com/mysite // @art.by.orla

ITIYA // https://www.itiyastudio.com/  // @ya.iti @itiyastudio

Installation

Homage to the Playground by Natalie Seo

Natalie is always surrounded by tools and dust. Her work has been focused on inviting people in by building immersive environments. These spaces invite the viewer to participate in a temporary world, often through physical action. Natalie believes ‘Joy’ is the key to her work and more broadly, the art world too. Through joy, she invites people to engage with her pieces. Whoever you are, you are more than welcome to dance alone but it’s always better with others.

For Brainchild, Natalie is building Homage to the Playground, inspired by The Playground installation she assisted on last year. Taking some of the structural forms that existed in the previous work, she has entirely reinvented its purpose, transitioning from active play to playful rest in a series of colourful hammocks which hang from all angles. When you’re looking for somewhere to chill over the weekend, you can bet this will answer your prayers.

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HOME – Beccy McCray

Beccy McCray explores playful, socially engaged art and design using an interdisciplinary approach that includes installation, participation, print, paint or whatever media necessary to create human moments and imaginative acts of resistance. Seeking to break down boundaries between art, activism and everyday life, Beccy ultimately aims to spread joy and inspire positive change at grass roots level, creating a positive vision of a more sustainable and socially just future.

These psychedelic, man-sized termite mounds explore what we mean by ‘home’ and are a celebration of the elderly. Like humans and our man-made homes, termites live in societies too, and the termites’ mounds also usually outlive the original colonies. Often other colonies occupy a mound after the death of the original builders. And so the ever-evolving cycle continues.

Far from a bleak interpretation of what it means to be ‘old’, ‘Home’ is a joyful celebration of the elderly as mythical beings, magical treasure troves of colourful stories and countless birthdays.

Taken into the context of the natural world, these alien totems remind us of mystical fungus or cacti, flowing lava and stalagmites, alive and hinting at other worlds. Is it the end of the party – or is it just the beginning?

www.beccymccray.com @beccy_mccraycray

artInstallation

‘i tread on air and contemplate the sun’ by klaus and joe

Joe considers himself to be a prop maker and a ‘heart breaker’. Unsure how true the latter is, but he insisted on putting it in this bio. Klaus is an artist and refuses to do any rhyming. klaus and joe have been friends for many years but have never collaborated before. This could be the start of something wonderful or a quick realisation that they don’t actually get along and unsure why they’ve hung out all these years.

Together they are building i tread on air and contemplate the sun – an installation which sets the scene for a dramatic tale. Be part of the tragedy. Be part of the comedy. It’s like having a good time but knowing it’s actually thanks to your medication. It’s like scattering your grandmother’s ashes and have them plaster your face. It’s like another analogy of a funny/tragic thing happening. It’s like an alanis morissette song. klaus and joe are bringing the theatre to you. Walk through the set and create your story. Touch them. Move them. Honour the gods and join the chorus.

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‘Illogical Land’ by Molly Smith

Molly is a multidisciplinary designer who works predominantly with 3D, Illustration and Surface Pattern Design. Her bold and playful style has led her to make works for a broad range of projects including creating textile designs in collaboration with K Swiss and her installation for Brainchild.

Illogical Land is an immersive and interactive art installation focused around the theme of human pollution. Set in the future where human waste has caused plants and crops to die out completely, a formula is created by the government in order to enrich the soil again. The formula then results in enormous mutated plants beginning to grow, poisonous to the touch and carnivorous too. The installation focuses around a world where humans are no longer in power and the natural environment begins to take matters into its own hands.

The installation resembles a dense dystopian forest through the use of distorted natural forms. The aesthetics of the installation aim to bring to light the importance and power of the natural environment and how we should appreciate the beauty of nature and work together to ensure its well being.  The piece is very large in scale so that spectators are able to walk around and explore this alternate world.

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INSIDES OUT – Ellie Pearce

Ellie Pearce is a textile artist creating tufted artworks inspired by human anatomy under the microscope. Her artworks highlight the beauty and intricacy of the hidden microscopic world and explore what it means to inhabit a body. She creates artwork about Endometriosis and chronic pain, translating different organs and areas of the body that can be affected by this whole-body disease into tangible artworks.

‘Insides Out’ will encapsulate you in a cellular cocoon and let you re-imagine what it means to be living in a body. The installation will act as a catalyst for conversations about the invisible inner workings of our bodies as you sit on rugs inspired by the human body. 

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‘Kaleidoscopic Forest’ by Chlorophyll Collective

Chlorophyll Collective consists of three nature loving, festival going artists working together to create a mosaic between the natural and synthetic world. Their name – Chlorophyll – is self-explanatory, absorbing light and reflecting light, much like their work.

Kaleidoscopic Forest is an installation made from the forest, filtering light and shadow with colourful frames which adorn the trees – branches, sky, leaves become ethereal when looking through a physical filter. Colours overlap creating new colours – orange, blues, reds, yellows. Looking up and exploring space, these hanging mobiles create a kaleidoscope of colour, constantly transforming, providing a break from the festival hustle bustle.

@zed.owie
@lucyhdrawings
@eleanorwort

 

 

 

artInstallation

‘Kaleidoscopic Visions’ by Natasha Hicken

Natasha is a creative whose work spans the immersive, the critical and the futuristic. At the heart of a lot of her work is an innate curiosity for people, the way they navigate the world and the human experience. This rests in her belief that human-centered design can help solve some of the biggest problems. Whether personally or as a planet this is the only way to build a future to look forward to.

For Brainchild she is building Kaleidoscopic Visions, a giant kaleidoscope which will act as a portal to a Brainchild that people have never seen before.

 

artInstallation

‘Matter That Settles’ by ebb

ebb is a recently formed collective comprised of artists Lisa Darrer, Claire Pritchard and Rosalind Wilson working across a range of disciplines. matter that settles will be their first collaborative piece.

Envisaging the site of Brainchild as a basin, a series of boulder-scale masses made from waste, manmade materials will become moveable fragments of land. The Brainchild community will become the active agent in the installation; touching, mounting and rolling the masses to remap the festival terrain like tides depositing silt.

By repurposing polystyrene, plastics and pulped waste, destined for landfill, these inorganic materials will mimic organic forms.  At a time where it is increasingly crucial to speed up our understanding and find solutions to the Earth’s sustainability, the masses will become monuments of this urgency. Pulped paper, waste, dye and luminescent pigment spread over the surface of the masses like lichen on rocks. The fungi-like skin reminds us of naturally occurring processes and systems that could provide solutions to these burgeoning issues.

 

artInstallation

‘Monumental.net’ by In Situ

In Situ are a design studio championing youth culture with a commitment to engaging with and supporting young people. Inspired by the DIY ethos of hip hop and street cultures, In Situ creates interactive installations for music and cultural events, exploring the intersection between the physical and digital.

Monumental.net stands as a tribute to the Internet. The installation plays with the idea of perspective – a quality so often lacking in the digital world we inhabit. The view from most angles is a clutter of pixels and information, however when viewed from a specific point the overall picture of the piece comes together to reflect the great connecting potential of the internet, to help foster DIY movements at a local and global scale.

 

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‘Nothing to be Frightened of’ by Ed Haslam

Ed is a visual artist who works across many mediums. He collaborated on the giant interactive pods in the woods year before last and co-founded Platform Projects in 2016 which runs a gallery and residency program at Platform Southwark where the Brainchild office used to be based.

Nothing to be Frightened of is an installation that responds to recent personal experiences of grief. The work is a meditation on time and mortality, whereby each reflective flag symbolises a moon cycle he will live through until his life expectancy is up. The flags occupy the space in the boundary of the woodland, addressing the fear of what’s beyond, whilst questioning whether it needs to be feared at all.

 

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‘Orb Land’ by Georgie Roberston

Georgie is an artist from South London who spends her time making colourful things. She teaches children how to make things whilst also helping out with installation pieces for other wonderful artists.

Orb land is a warm and colourful space to lie and chill in, a big old geodesic womb pod where you and your friends can smush as the festival whirls on around you.

 

artInstallation

PLANTASY – Molly Smith Design

Molly Smith is a crafter of all things big and small, creating sculptures, installations and home decor items. Her style of work is adventurous and playful and is inspired by bold colour combinations and the beauty of the natural world. This year Molly will be returning to Brainchild with another mutant plant installation piece, after showcasing ‘Illogical land’ at the last event, which focused on creating a post apocalyptic world imaging what life could have looked like if mutant plants took over. This year the installation is taking on the form of a hanging plant structure in which the plant is escaping from its pot and overgrowing around the space.

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Plastic Pavilion by Seyi Adelekun

Seyi is an Architectural Designer and Maker, with a passion for creating immersive art installations that reimagine our public spaces. She hopes to transform the way we experience our urban surroundings and empower local communities through sustainable, self-build design projects. Her work uses the Arts as a tool to encourage us to make the most of our resources by having a more meaningful and conscious relationship with material objects.

Seyi is a committee member for Black Females in Architecture, who actively promote the beautiful ways of making with recycled plastic through fun and creative workshops, and is member of RUSS Self-Build Community Land Trust based in Lewisham.

This year, Seyi is showcasing Plastic Pavilion – an installation which aims to highlight the wasteful nature of single-use plastic, and challenges the public perception of an everyday material by inspiring people with its beautiful and creative potential.

The piece is a large undulating canopy made of thousands of plastic bottles filled with coloured water which will transform the outdoor space into a serene oasis. Lie down and let your imagination wander as you gaze above at the glistening colours.

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‘Sadbags’ by Kavitha Balasingham

Kavitha’s practice focuses on how pure formalist tools of colour and form can work coherently together to draw the attention of the public through painting, sculpture, installation and digital art.

The blobfish is a very misunderstood fish. The Ugly Animal Preservation Society awarded the blobfish as the ugliest fish of the deep sea. The blobfish gives a voice to the “mingers who always get forgotten”. The installation Sadbags commemorates its beautiful ugliness in the form of an interactive and colourful soft play sculpture with moaning sounds recorded from the artist’s voice to play alongside the piece. Listen closely and you’ll hear the blobfish whispers of sweet nothings come to life.

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‘Sail Shades’ by Cathy Van Hear

Cathy is a textile artist who makes community driven artworks with an emphasis on play, collaboration, and group learning. She has a joyful style with an emphasis on unusual combinations of textures, and a playful approach to colour and shape. Alongside smaller personal textile works, she runs workshops which celebrate and explore the journey of creating together rather than focussing on a specific visual outcome.

Sail Shades will be made in a workshop series with young people who face barriers to accessing arts opportunities, bringing a bright and colourful community-made canopy to the Brainchild field.

artInstallation

‘SPORE’ by Shred-It! Collective

Shred-It! Collective is made up of five young creatives working across fashion, architecture, fabrication and theatre design. Their aim is to create installations that bring a bit of fun and colour to the world. They do this through creating unique, ephemeral pieces which are often evocative of marine or alien life. Their first installation was The Reef at last years Brainchild festival, since then we have expanded, creating several installations for festivals and events.

This year Brainchild has attracted an unexpected visitor. There is something living amongst the trees; something alien, something growing. A life form has settled in the woods and has begun to spread it’s tendrils. Breathing in and out, reaching wider and wider, it seemingly draws on the energy of the trees and the earth below. The colourful pulsating globules grow and shrink, inflating and deflating with an eerie rhythm. As the shapes grow and shrink a tranquil peace descends upon Brainchild; the cares of the party goers are drawn away, absorbed by the colourful, convulsing mass of this strange beast.

SPORE is an installation piece intended to bring an other-wordly quality to the woods of Brainchild. It is a series of constantly breathing shapes hung in amongst the trees. Softly glowing through the night, the piece promises to become a party-worthy centrepiece.

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THE BIG FRIENDLY PERISCOPE – Tash Hicken

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THE BRAINSTAGE – Kavitha Balasingham

Kavitha first came our way when she helped out with our Festival launch party in 2016 and has been making installations with us ever since, getting more ambitious with every year as she’s found her groove as the abundantly talented artist she is. Seeing her step up for 2021 is a special moment to behold.

Much like her 2019 Blob Fish, this year’s design celebrates bright and beautiful ‘ugliness’ in the form of colourful, untamed, interactive soft play sculpture. Swipe through for a handful of sneaky peeks from Kavitha’s tests & sketches + a couple of snaps from her latest exhibition!

“𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘺-𝘪𝘯’ 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘊 𝘧𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 5 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 (𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦) 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦! 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 3𝘋 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳! 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘉𝘊 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦… 𝘤𝘶𝘦 2019 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 – 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩”

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The Food tent by Alex Weir

Alex is a painter based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His playful and humorous work takes many forms, ranging from digital drawings created on MS Paint, to large scale interactive installations and painted murals. Whatever the medium, Alex’s work is always, in some way or another, related to food. Most of the time it is simply the aesthetic qualities of a certain food that engage him (he’s always painting fried eggs for example, and he’s no idea why). But it is also the cultural qualities that certain foods may carry and the social environments they create. Cafes, restaurants and kitchens where people gather and food is both created and consumed are a key point of interest for him and the inspiration behind him designing this year’s food tents at Brainchild.

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THE FOREVER OCTOPUS – Hattie Meeuwissen-True

Designed by Plastic-Free Me Director and artist Harriet Lily, and created with the help of our Plastic-Free Youth in Leeds: The Forever Octopus is a stunning visual representation of how much disposable plastic we use in just one month. First installed at The Human Aquarium Exhibition in Leeds, people of all ages enjoyed the stunning display from the 4m x 4m octopus, suspended from the ceiling. It is fitted with lights and designed in a way which encourages people to touch, feel and interact with the sculpture: providing a full sensory experience.

“The Forever Octopus combines my two absolute passions: art and conservation. I wanted to create something which could be simply enjoyed as an artwork, or as a call-to-action to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives.”

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THE GIANT JEWELLERY BOX – Zoë Grainge, Niamh Lynch & Ratty Nye Davies

Zoë, Ratty and Niamh are Glasgow School of Art graduates working in London and Glasgow. Zoë, architectural designer, enjoys practicing at the overlap of architecture and other creative arts; a space that lends itself to playful and experimental design processes. Ratty’s practice is an endeavour in ‘world-building’, telling abstract narratives of trans*gender loss, betrayal and heartbreak through live performance, poetry, set-design and drawing. Niamh explores fantasy and melodrama through monologues and fairy tales, creating narrative worlds in her writing, 3d modelling and character building.

In a year where our glad rags have been gathering dust in the back of our wardrobes, The Giant Jewellery Box is an immersive space to celebrate the magic of glamour and the importance being together.

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The Main Stage by Lois O’Hara

Lois’s ethos explores how colour can have positive effects on people and places. Through her work she explores fluidity and capturing the movement of time. Instantly recognisable, her work has transcended multiple platforms and avenues whilst maintaining a unique approach to the viewing experience of shape and colour.

For Brainchild she is designing the Main Stage, creating something that reminds people of the sea but in a subtle way. Allowing the curvy shapes and bold colours to really sing and tell a story. The shapes of the wood reflect her signature style, encouraging festival-goers to dance along with the movement of the design.

 

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THE SHACK: ‘BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY’ – Seyi Adelekun, Shanice Abbey, Rosie Murphy, Lauren Rechere, Hannah Burrough, Fussilat Ibrahim & Christopher Bradley

Between Earth And Sky’ is a kaleidoscopic mirrored arch based on the simple beauty of a folded origami structure. In daylight the mirrors play on our experience of being held gently in place by the surrounding trees, and at night transforms into a psychedelic fire of fractured light.

Imagining the Brainchild clearing as a kind of dream space, the Shack team wanted to mingle the silhouettes of dancers with the trees until all distinctions disappear. They were inspired by the inversion of a forest as it extends down into a body of water, and how these reflections create an infinite and enchanted space between earth and sky. Hopefully escaping to reconnect with each other and with nature in the most healing way.

Chris about his experience working on the Shack design:

“Taking part in the competition for the Shack design has been a highlight of my 2021. I had an open mind when we started to see where it went; because although some of the group were friends already, but one or two of us were new to form this collective….I think it surprised Seyi that in the end 7 of us came together to design the installation with her! Also, you’d think that was too many designers but we’ve been breaking tasks up and everyone adding their own speciality….it felt right from sharing our first sketch ideas, settling on a concept then pushing it on step by step. Working with this super-supportive group of incredibly talented architects and artists has been inspiring, and it kinda feels like we’ve known each other for years already :) I was amazed at how quickly we resolved around the themes of lost intimacy and the magic of escaping to dance amongst the trees.”

Installation

The Shack by apastoreality

apastoreality is an architectural design studio designing the DJ stage in the woods at Brainchild. You might rememeber their previous pieces ‘Minty Cabin’ and ‘A Bigger Throne’ which were key features at Brainchild 2018 and 2017.

Their design for The Shack is overgrown with floral formations. These golden flowers are created from foil emergency blankets so that they appear like an alien life form, changing colour and transparency in varied light. Symbolically charged, the blankets transform into celebratory glistening blossoms at night, and gently rustle and whisper in the quiet of the morning.

artInstallation

‘The Silence’ by Wumzum and the Beddow n Battini Collective

Beddow n Battini are an interdisciplinary multi-ethnic art collective fuelled by London life and whacky-wonderful ’what ifs’. Wumzum is a longtime member of the collective and london-based illustrator. Thematically he is interested in translating his life experiences, the people that he has encountered and the things that bind them together.  This way of working has led to his works being heavily influenced by music, urban culture and community. Topically, his pieces reflect ideas of Empowered Afrofuturism and social commentary.

For Brainchild Wumzum is illustrating The Silences. This piece is a Play on the house of horrors experience. A life-size comic Piece that asks the audience to walk through its makeshift open pages to be challenged by the series of images. Each Panel Illustrated by Giant Mono coloured Themes touching on Different world views. 

The work will Look like a Giant 6 Page comic with Wumzum creating a live piece of art on the back for a full immersive and interactive experience.

artInstallation

WAY DOORS – Manufaction: Josh & Miles

Manufaction is a studio focused on conceiving and realising spaces, structures and experiences. They look for problems to solve, projects to get involved with and opportunities to rise to. They are driven by turning ideas into reality. 

WAY DOORS – “Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an ‘event boundary’ in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and creates memories,” Way doors is an experiential installation at the heart of the festival creating a transitional moment.

artInstallation

WIGGLE WONDERLAND – Lucy Grainge & Beau McCarthy

Beau McCarthy is an architectural designer from London, working across a multitude of 3D and 2D design practices. Beau’s interests lay within the public realm and temporal spaces, he aims to bring joy and celebration into the built environment, with a focus on sustainable builds. Lucy Grainge is an artist and designer from Manchester. She is interested in community centred and collaborative practices which enable social change. Her work visually explores the potential of colour, shape and pattern as a tool for communication. She is co-creator of Psyche Publication.

The Wiggle Wonderland is an evolving pavilion, which will be launched at Brainchild and then tour communities within the UK. It is a modular, playable space that invites people to activate it through movable elements and changeable artwork. It is part of a wider research project which explores sustainable and collaborative design activated by communities. Within the first instalment at Brainchild, the artwork created by Lucy celebrates moving and wiggling your body again.

The project is funded by Arts Council England National Lottery fund and with support from Champion Timber and Brainchild.

lucygrainge.com 

psychepublication.com

 

artInstallation

‘Zig.Zag.’ by Amy Bairstow

Since graduating from Chelsea college of Art in textile design, Amy has worked on a range of creative projects including set design for film, site specific murals, interactive installations, interiors and art workshops. Her multi media work is always lead by colour, pattern and creating a sense of play. Currently based in London she has previously exhibited work in Paris as part of TexSelect UK and worked as a textile designer in India.

Zig.Zag, her installation for Brainchild, is a zingy space to lie down, chill and chat. It’s a metal zigzag structure made up of giant paintings, reversible patterns and hand dyed tassel’s that encourages people to crawl inside the colour and take shelter from the rest of the festival.