Night Watch

WOKmedia  (United Kingdom)

Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner established WOKmedia in 2004. They are based in London with a production studio in Shanghai. Julie graduated from Design Products at the Royal College of Art in 2004, and in 2005 from the Helen Hamlyn Research Associates Programme.  Wolfgang received his MA in 2001 in Design Products at the ZKM/HFG Karlsruhe (Germany), and was then guest researcher in one of the leading research centre FZK (Forschungs Zentrum Karlsruhe) in Germany. Julie is born in 1978 in Lyon France and Wolfgang is born in 1974 in Stuttgart Germany.

Wokmedia's work is primarily concerned with the emotional dimension, an archetypal memory or a physical sensation. Often they survey a state of in between where chaos is showing structure and confusion is beginning to make sense. Where out of devastation and destruction emerges a new world. A world imbedded in their childhood memories when emotions were not expected to be filtered, when make-believe was not equated with lunacy.

Living and working in China clearly influences their work. Their own cultural heritage, their surrounding and its impact have always driven them. Their work seeks to reach people at an experiential and emotional level, that is to say they put something of themselves into it, which resonates with those who come across it. The work should be able to exist without explanation so that people can interpret the experience of seeing or using it on their own terms. They hope to add something to inspire, to connect with or relate to.

Primarily they see their pieces as a kind of space invaders emerging from a world hidden inside their childhood memories, specifically invading their guarded homes with brushed floors and electric light switches, breaking, twisting and winding through their rooms. Moreover, questioning their self constructed environments, shaking on their make-believes and throwing them off centre.

WOKmedia's work has been shown in national and international group shows and solo installations including the following; Design Mart at the Design Museum London, then touring the UK; The European Design Show at the Design Museum London, then touring internationally; The British Council's lighting exhibition Twinkle, twinkle in Tokyo, Moscow and Istanbul; Great Brits: the New Alchemists, the second collaboration between the Design Museum, the British Council and Paul Smith for the Milan Furniture Fair in 2005, then touring Asia; In "My World" Part of the Lisbon Biennale "Experimenta".

Most recently their work has been shown in "Well Done" in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei, in London, Sheffield, Singapore, Amsterdam, Basel, Sydney and Melbourne. In December Wokmedia showed at ‘Miami Basel'

Design Synopsis of Night Watch

Night Watch employs the ancient Chinese art of inside painting where an image is reverse-painted through a small opening of a hollowed crystal ball. WOKmedia has used the technique to paint a stunning variety of animal eyes into 200 crystal balls, which will be placed throughout two outdoor pools. The animals' eyes will be completely or partially submerged into water to reveal the treasure of underwater animal life. The crystal balls are illuminated, resulting in a mesmerizing glow similar to animal eyes hit by a beam of light. When night falls a secret life unfolds that we tend to forget. The eyes tell the story of a creature's life: its sources of food, its habits, its fears, and the history of its kind. WOKmedia's vision was to create an installation that is looking at us as much as to be looked at. Being watched and observed has become an almost accepted part of our lives. The animal eyes act as metaphors: a questioning gaze towards our secured and controlled environments with little space left undeveloped. Information provided by Sun Hung Kai Properties Charitable Fund Limited.

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