ILUSTRARTE 14, Biennial International Exhibition of Children’s Books Illustration
PLAYGROUND
For this Ilustrarte 14, we have crossed illustration for children with the playful and creative dimension of the act of playing, in a solution that explores the formal features of the famous colorful toy blocks, timeless in its simplicity and potential for discovery.
It is noteworthy that the first concept model has been literally assembled using a set of blocks bought at a toy store.
These objects remain recognizable and communicative, extracted from the everyday iconography, transforming banal into an exercise that brings us closer to the creative process of illustrating.
Starting from this basic vocabulary of prismatic elements, we decided to associate a new material – high density foam – with an appealing sensory quality, inducing a tactile experience and a playful interaction, in brief, stimulating imagination and participation.
The 150 illustrations are thus shown in sets of foam blocks provisionally grouped, combined and recombined in a purely recreational logic, extending the graphic game of the illustrations to a volumetric game that transforms space and defies our desire to play.
Exhibition Design: Pedro Cabrito + Isabel Diniz architects Curators: Ju Godinho, Eduardo Filipe Graphic Design: Silvadesigners Constructor: Eurostand Organization and Production: Ver Pra Ler / EDP Foundation Location: Museum of Electricity, Central Tejo, Lisbon Dates: 17th January – 13th April 2014 Photography: Joao Morgado - Architecture Photography
Pedro Cabrito + Isabel Diniz architects
Pedro Cabrito and Isabel Diniz are working together since 2000, in their studio based in Lisbon.
Their work combines formal and spatial experimentation with extreme constructive rigor and an ethic of sustainability in the choice and use of materials. This attitude is present in the numerous large scale exhibition projects completed over the last few years where their approach has been strongly influenced by neo-objectual art.
The architectural practice of Pedro Cabrito + Isabel Diniz is thus characterized by processes of formalization based on a constant relationship with the images, stimuli and materiality of everyday life, without any language restriction, emphasizing its metaphorical and poetic value.
photo: Pedro Maia
photo: Pedro Maia
*Appreciation towards Pedro Cabrito + Isabel Diniz architects for providing the project description.*
