Isabel and Helen on their installation for glacéau vitaminwater

Date
28 August 2014

For some the summer is a time to wind down and get away from it all, but in the heart of east London an exciting new pop-up space from glacéau vitaminwater is a vibrant hub of creative inspiration.

Opened at the end of July, the Shinebright Studio is a seven-week celebration of some of the city’s most exciting creative talents with exhibitions, workshops and mentoring sessions. Working with the likes of singer/songwriter foxes, DJ Rob Da Bank, filmmaker Jamal Edwards, fashion designers agi & sam, plus designers Isabel and Helen and Bread Collective, the space aims to inspire people to realise their creative potential. To this end someone will win a place on the School for Creative Start-Ups’ nine-month support programme (worth £3,500)

The Shinebright Studio is at the Old Truman Brewery off Brick Lane, and is open until 10 September.

Seeing as they’re old friends of the site, we caught up with Isabel and Helen to find out about their involvement in the Shinebright Studio and what they’ve been up to…

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Isabel and Helen: No Diving for the vitamin water Shinebright Studio

Above

Isabel and Helen: No Diving for the vitamin water Shinebright Studio

The title of your installation at The Shinebright Studio is No Diving – can you tell us a little about that?

Tormented by the (long-gone) London heatwave, we wanted to create a surreal poolside scene where people could come, strip off and soak up the artificial rays… So come and join us for a dip!

What do you want the public to get out of the installation?

We want them to be transported to the sweltering heat of Palm Springs in the 1960s.

What other creatives are you excited to see at the space? 

Agi & Sam’s collaboration with Gary Card – we’re huge fans of their collections and prints and can’t wait to see what they’ll do with the space.

"We want them to be transported to the sweltering heat of Palm Springs in the 1960s."

Isabel and Helen

We haven’t caught up with you guys for over a year and your site is brimming with new work – can you tell us what you’ve been up to? What were your personal highlights? 

We’ve had a quite a busy summer! We built two giant pairs of golden binoculars for Secret Garden Party. They were placed 500m apart, fixed in position, and wholly focused on the other pair. People could interact with each other across the festival, and maybe even find their long-lost love.

Also, Nike commissioned us to create a shrine dedicated to the Brazilian Ronaldo during the World Cup. We tried to capture the hysteria that spread through the crowds during his 15 record-breaking cup goals, with a shimmering homage to this footballing legend.

What would you say that you guys are doing that is unique? 

We encourage the audience to interact with our work, and try to make the experience as playful as possible. We think about what excites us, and then apply this to the brief.  

Are there any artists that you would love to work with? 

William Wegman is one of our heroes. His work stretches across all disciplines; from fine art in the 1070s to film and more recently fashion photography. We love the subtle humour and simplicity of his work. It’d be great to build a set for him and his dogs.

Also Paul Harrison and John Wood’s crazy sets and playgrounds have always amazed us; working for them would be a lot of fun!

Finally have you got any advice for people entering the installation/set design field?

Say yes to everything!

Above

Isabel and Helen: No Diving for the vitamin water Shinebright Studio

Above

Isabel and Helen: No Diving for the vitamin water Shinebright Studio

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