I've always been an admirer of French photographer Charles Pétillon and his work. Particularly his longstanding art-installation series 'Invasions', featuring gigantic clouds of inflatable white balloons invading a host of public spaces.
Perhaps its the observant dreamer in me, but Pétillon's work has always entranced me for its curious way of making one really consider a space that, prior to one of his invasions, would have simply been glanced over. Pétillon and his balloons suddenly create a tear, a portal to another dimension from which spill forth other worldly orbs, turning an ordinary environment to an extraordinary setting
I tend to look at these balloons as metaphors, each installation a story of the space itself. And more than that, the fragile nature of the physical construct could also be viewed as a metaphor for the fragility and temporal nature of man-built environments. For eventually, nature, like the balloons, will invade and reclaim this space.
Making Dutch Connexions
Most recently, Pétillon made headlines at the 2017 Dutch Design Week for his collaboration with American textile manufacturer Sunbrella. Entitled 'Connexions', the installation featured the iconic Pétillon orbs in a variety of different fabrics interlocked and displayed both outdoors and indoors. It was a great and thoughtful way to show the durability and performance of the fabrics, as well as the brand's ethos of 'Design + Performance'.
Personally, I thought it was a rather fantastic & creative way for a brand to participate in an event like Dutch Design Week. It felt both natural and engaging. It's also indicative of the hot new trend of experiential marketing and how brands need to stop selling products tactically, and start telling stories in a visceral way.
New ways of showcasing familiar ideas and collaborations with minds outside the category will go towards to creating the kind of buzz that Sunbrella and Pétillon made together.
Something to keep in mind for the next brief.
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