Unexpected event #2: The Location.
To give a bit of a back story, Luna is Revelstoke’s own nocturnal light festival focused on interactive art. The kick off party takes place downtown Revy and festival goers can see and participate in different art installations. Luna paired me with the elegant Explorers Society hotel, which is a modern heritage boutique hotel. In other words, the concrete walls in the lobby are part of the original building, and drilling driftwood into them would probably be illegal. So you can imagine how hard the wheels were turning in my head when I realized that I had to find a new way to display 7 large pieces of driftwood, without any attachement to the wall… Thankfully, Luna gives artists a $500 budget for their project, which came in very handy because the solution wasn’t cheap. With the help of Mount Begbie Machine Works, I got 7 steel stands made to keep my pieces standing on their own. Unfortunately, those stands are not invisible so that brings me to the next step.
Unexpected event #3, The Stands.
I had to find a way to hide the stands because it took away from the main attraction. Since we’re in the driftwood/river/beach aesthetic, why don’t I recreate the riverside rocks with some hand made sand bags. Not only it’ll hide the base, but it’ll also put extra weight on the stands to make them sturdier. A trip to Fabric Land and MANY hours (that I don’t have) later, everything seems to be ready for the show. However, at the last minute, while sewing my rock-looking sand bags, I thought to myself: “Wait a minute, I need this piece to be interactive. Right now all I have is a display, but no interaction…” I had to think for a minute and this is where the bunnies came into play. I decided to sew a couple of backpack bunnies for people to wear at the party as an extension of the main piece. You’ll see why in the pictures… But for now, my piece is done and I can’t wait to set it up for the show!
The Setup
You know summer is over when it smells like Fall on a crisp September morning. I had arrange to install my piece early that day with the help of the friendly hotel manager. He made sure to test drive the backpack bunnies, and as for myself, I went back to bed, to catch up on sleep after this long, exhausting journey of unexpected events.
The Kick off Party
It was pouring rain on opening night, but Revy’s finest locals are not made of chocolate, in fact, they are made of Gore-tex. Bouncing with my friends from one piece to another, I was fascinated to see how diversified and animated Luna turned out for it’s first ever edition! From occupying Mackenzie street, to dancing to the beats of the Explorers after-party, to catching a breath of fresh air in the umbrella alley…It was the perfect event to brighten up the rainy season. My flask was empty so it was time to go to bed, but just before leaving, a man came up to me and said: “My daughter really loves your bunny backpack, can we keep it?” I told him: “Hell ya you can! If my art can make one person happy, I’m happy!” Funny enough, a few months later, I’m taking a walk in the neighbourhood, and I see something familiar in the corner of my eye. There’s the bunny! Still alive and well, just chilling on the patio. That made my day 🙂
Catch the Drift
The Drifters are still in drifting mode but they would love to finally settle in a location where they can shine to their full potential. Either on their original stands or fixed on a wall, they dream of being a statement piece and a conversation starter. If you feel like welcoming a unique piece of art made by a local artist into your home or business, catch the drift: bambi@turbobambi.com
Contact me here to purchase or display “The Drifters”