Escher X nendo| Between Two Worlds
House of movement
Role
Art Director
Animator
Editor
Client
nendo
Info
A collaborative exhibition between Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher (1898-1972) and nendo held for four months at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia.
The exhibition featured 157 of Escher’s works, with the space and objects created by nendo and inspired by Escher’s works.
Year
2018
House of movement
A house motif is incorporated in an animation, projection mapped directly onto a geometric, tile-like base. This was designed as a three-dimensional relief using a two-dimensional house pattern. Inspiration was taken from Escher’s works as he investigated the perfect geometry of crystals and Platonic solids. In the same way Escher expressed the tension between order and chaos, these houses express a state of flux between two-dimensionality and three-dimensionality. By creating digital optical illusions, the animation changes the depth, layout and colour of the base and creates new moments that exist between the accurate physical dimension and the limitless digital world.
The Space
The project was commissioned by NGV and executed with the full support and cooperation of Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and the M.C. Escher Foundation.
Fish, birds, and other characters frequently appearing in Escher’s works as guides to communicate his complex ideas, have inspired the decision to choose a three-dimensional motif to navigate people throughout the exhibition.
Born from the idea to design a “home for Escher” and considered as a symbol of space, the simple shape of a house was chosen to convey the concepts of the exhibition.
The museum’s original structure of 4 main galleries was carefully divided into 10 spaces that vary in scale and atmosphere to create one continuous labyrinth-like experience.
The space was designed as a site-specific immersive experience, maintaining a strong two-dimensional appearance expressed in three-dimensional installations and objects.
