Assignments Interflora World Cup - Grant Collins, Australia
Flowers on the Orient
The first event, Designers Choice is themed "Flowers on the Orient". Contestants will complete a design up to 1.2 metres deep and wide and 2.25 metres high within 2 hours. On the same day they will have their artistic flair tested again with a "Surprise Item" which they will complete in just over an hour. This is an exciting test of how spontaneous these designers from around the world can be with only 15 minutes to view the various items presented to them and create something amazing.
The initial ideas that I considered when planning my design for this item were “What is truly oriental"; "How can I portray the many, varied oriental themes into one piece?"; "What colours are representative of the area?"; "How do I incorporate the theme of 'on' rather than 'of'?" With these initial questions in mind, I set about gathering the answers using the internet, studying books and movies and asking a lot of questions of people that had travelled to not only China, but also other countries that make up the orient. From all of this information, I wrote down all of the elements that I would like to encompass in my design, settling on china as my inspiration including ideas such as:
the Great Wall; Chinese festival dragons; snakes; flowing rivers; and landscape paintings of curved mountains. From this point I sketched the style of my design, deciding on a curving, flowing design representative of the ideas listed above. Then I thought more about what medium I could use as my mechanic for the prop, deciding on hundreds of black lacquered chopsticks to form the base upon which my flowers would sit.
After this, I set out in October of 2009 and visited Shanghai in search of all things oriental, taking in the sights, sounds, smells and colours. This helped me decide on the flowers and foliages that I could use to convey my ideas. The clear acrylic screen which I am using as the main support prop in this design, is consistent across my entire world cup booth to enhance the idea of the designs 'floating' and to provide them with a uniform oriental symbol.
Whilst studying the types of flowers and foliages typical of the orient, I considered the seasons and the flowers representative of these. I consulted with my Father, who enjoys Chinese painting as a hobby and he educated me on their principles including The Magnolia of Spring; The Peony of Summer; The Chrysanthemum of Fall; and the Dahlia of Winter. Further, I considered the meanings of certain types of flowers and how I could incorporate these into my designs. Other flowers and foliages I consider to be typical of the orient include: Camellia; Bamboo; Willow; and Orchids
This design is a product of my own individual creative process – utilizing the resources and influences at my fingertips and ideas in my mind.
Surprise Item - Shanghai Tang
Create within the time allowed an in store display for the famous Shanghai Tang Clothing and Accessories Store. Your design should reflect the vibrancy and contemporary ambience of this retail outlet. You do not have to use all of the materials provided, you may decide not to use some of the items at all.
Please tell us something about your Shanghai Tang creation.
I would like to show the reflection of the contemporary ambience in my design. You can use this arrangement for a big shop: everyone can see the huge creation from a distance.
