Collider creates collateral for artist Fiona Hall’s latest exhibition for the 56th Venice Biennale

Collider has recently created the catalogue and collateral for artist Fiona Hall’s ‘Wrong Way Time’ exhibition at the new Australian Pavilion in the 56th Venice Biennale in May this year.

Collider uses Hall’s returning arrow motif, from her Wrong Way Time work, as the main feature of the campaign.

Says Andrew Van Der Westhuyzen, creative director: “What could be more at home in this context than an arrow? It felt right to isolate her own painted form rather than, as designers, codify her intent. Instead we left it as her original painted form, extracting it from its context on a real clock and making it a strong recurring graphic device.”

Three key outcomes form the campaign: the catalogue, tote bag and USB. While quite mundane at face value, each fills a particular purpose in the context of the Venice Biennale and competes on similar territory with other pavilions. ‘The Venice tote’ is almost a mobile billboard for each exhibition, a good bag becomes a coveted object that can create a lot of awareness and buzz for a participating artist.

The catalogue aimed to provide a refined and focused encapsulation of the work to the serious art followers who expect a much deeper access to Hall’s thinking and process. The design is highly mindful of the artwork and the curators telling of the exhibition.

The USB is given out to media and becomes an important memento of Australia’s presence in Venice. This year we were quite ambitious (through great support from Australia Council) and involved Collider’s internal 3D modelling and printing R&D to create a real size prototype from which the custom metal sardine can was made (relating to Hall’s intricate sardine can sculptures). A USB is also a container of sorts – Collider just swapped fish for data. The humour vs. expense is something Collider knew the art world in Venice would appreciate.

Says Andrew Van Der Westhuyzen: “Hall’s work orbits humour, discipline and political issues in a menagerie of forms and ideas. So it was important for our design outcome to allow that to happen naturally but still focus and refine the public message to present the Australia Council as a considered and mature government arts body.”

Fiona Hall at the 56th Venice Biennale (May 2015)

Curator: Linda Michael