New York artists Confettisystem – aka Nicholas Andersen and Julie Ho – are responsible for the giant chandelier installation which is on display in enex100 for the month of May. BEN DILLON checks in.
Your first major installation included the creation of eight over-sized piñatas at New York’s Opening Ceremony store, celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Do view this as Confettisystem’s turning point to success?
Yes, our first installation involving multiple pinatas was for our friends at Opening Ceremony, to celebrate Cinco De Mayo at their first store on Howard Street in NYC. It was our first large installation with eight oversized pinatas. It was the first time we really saw the amazing combination of the forms and the material come together in a big way, they really let us take over the window. Humberto loves Cinco De Mayo so it was a great opportunity to push the installation as far as we could, it was fantastic!
With an impressive list of clients including works with Beyonce, as well as instalments with fashion labels Lanvin, J Crew and Opening Ceremony – what has been your some of your favourite instalments/experiences over the past couple years?
A few weeks ago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art commissioned us to create a six foot version of their logo for a museum event that was held in the Egyptian wing. That was amazing. It’s been really exciting for us to work with such iconic New York institutions that have inspired us since we were very young.
Also on the top of the list is our installation at PS1 MoMA two years ago. They gave us complete control of a huge two story gallery space. We were inspired by theatrical rigging and fly systems and created a large multi-functional space in which we suspended dozens of objects, each piece was hung from a pulley that allowed us to raise and lower each element and create hanging compositions with our piñatas, metallic walls, flower branches and oversized fruits. We created different sets for each of the different events we held in the space.
Another one would be The New York Times Style Magazine commissioned us to create their ‘T’ a few years back. That was very exciting for us! We have always admired the artists and designers that have created ‘T’s for their publication. We heard that the gold fringed T is now hanging on the wall on the T Magazine floor at the NY Times Building.
A visit to Melbourne in 2013 saw your creation of a Manhattan-inspired chandelier, accompanied by an installation for the premier of the Regent Theatre’s production of King Kong, what were your highlights during your time their?
It was an amazing trip, our first time to Australia! And what an amazing event, the Town Hall where we installed the piece was stunning. We got to meet a few people we love and have worked with; Third Drawer Down, P.A.M., WITU. This past summer we were invited to create a stage for the Sugar Mountain Festival. It was a lot of fun, we got to enjoy the festival, bands and crowds. And the perfect weather was a great break from the New York winter!
Why did you choose Perth to display your most recent installation?
We were invited, but have never been we’d love to visit someday!
Are you still based in South Williamsburg in Brooklyn?
Yes, we both live about a 20 minute walk from the studio it’s been great this spring. Day to day, we are basically in the studio all week, managing, building, shipping and prepping. Toward the end of the week and weekend we are often doing site visits or installing our pieces for events.
Where do you look for any new inspiration?
Our work is an expression of our combined cross cultural memories, drawing inspiration from the rich sensorial experiences that often occur in temples, clubs, and other places of healing. Some of our favourite works are by James Turrell, Imi Knobel, Sheila Hicks, and Terry Riley.
What’s next for you guys?
We just completed a spring inspired installation for a new Crewcuts shop in Harrods. It was a selection of beautiful flowers and insects. Spring and summer events are starting to pick up here in New York. And we just added new floral pieces to our online shop to celebrate spring!
