Art Toys and Other Stories - Eggpicnic at the Corner
We spoke with sassy and talented design duo Chris and Camila, also known as Egg Picnic at the opening night of their Art Toys and Other Stories exhibition. Using their design skills, the duo convey ideas focused on big issues such as genocide, loss of traditional culture, and endangered species. There work is visually engaging and poignant.
Please tell us about your current exhibition.
Chris: Our current exhibition is called Art Toys and Other Stories. Through our illustrations and art toys, we are trying to inform people about the many different stories and social problems faced by animals and communities in South American and other international regions. These stories are something that you may not have heard about, and range from topics such as endangered species to loss of traditional culture within Indigenous communities.
How do these artworks express the essence of these social problems?
Chris: We use illustrations to show the viewer different aspects of social problems throughout South America and the world.
Camila: For example, one of our designs is of the Spectacle Bear which is the only species of bear in South America, a lot of people don't know about them, which included myself until not long ago. There are only 3000 left, currently they are very vulnerable and under threat of extinction. We thought that through our work, it would be a good way to highlight these issues, and show the world what is currently going on. It may inspire people to do things, that is what the whole show is about.
Why did you choose this concept for the Exhibition?
Camila: I feel like it was largely because of my South American roots. I got to work in really poor areas in South America when I was over there, and I kind of realised that this is going on all over the world and that people need to take action. I kind of feel like if you put the information out there, people might do something about it. We actually got a really good response with the bear community. They found our work online, and were really happy and thankful. They put it on their website and now it's everywhere.
How did your collaboration affect the creative process?
Chris: Traditionally Camila is a graphic designer, and I'm an industrial designer. So in terms of creating the art toys, she would design them in 2D, then I would take on the 3D part and look at the materials, and how we're going to work it into a 3D object. We always have a specific idea when we're designing an art toy, like a specific issues that we want to convey, and this affects the creative process.
Camila: We also collaborate with other people. For example we collaborated with a group from Santiago who are studying Chilean butterflies. We also collaborated with artisans from southern Chile who weave horse hair. We want to show the world what these people do and we want to be able to bring that tradition to everyone so they can see how amazing it is, and how important it is to keep it going. That attitude essentially embodies our concept and what it is that we are trying to achieve.
Any final words?
Chris: Whilst we are working with international communities on this project, I think it is very important to work locally with local people like Indigenous Australians. We need to share their stories as well. If you see something that they are doing that is amazing, you should use your design skills to promote their technique and tradition. Use your ability to promote it in a different form.
Camila: Plus you really learn from them, it's an amazing experience.
And were there many couples disagreements throughout the process?
Camila: (Laughs) Oh you know, stuff happens, but we really love what we do, so we really focus on not having any issues, and just getting things rights.
Chris: It does take us a while to get things right, but once they're right, they're perfect.
You can see more of Chris and Camila's work on their Website www.eggpicnic.com and their Facebook page www.facebook.com/Eggpicnic
For more information about the exhibition, check out The Corner's Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/TheCornerCooperative
- Nathan
Please tell us about your current exhibition.
Chris: Our current exhibition is called Art Toys and Other Stories. Through our illustrations and art toys, we are trying to inform people about the many different stories and social problems faced by animals and communities in South American and other international regions. These stories are something that you may not have heard about, and range from topics such as endangered species to loss of traditional culture within Indigenous communities.
How do these artworks express the essence of these social problems?
Chris: We use illustrations to show the viewer different aspects of social problems throughout South America and the world.
Camila: For example, one of our designs is of the Spectacle Bear which is the only species of bear in South America, a lot of people don't know about them, which included myself until not long ago. There are only 3000 left, currently they are very vulnerable and under threat of extinction. We thought that through our work, it would be a good way to highlight these issues, and show the world what is currently going on. It may inspire people to do things, that is what the whole show is about.
Why did you choose this concept for the Exhibition?
Camila: I feel like it was largely because of my South American roots. I got to work in really poor areas in South America when I was over there, and I kind of realised that this is going on all over the world and that people need to take action. I kind of feel like if you put the information out there, people might do something about it. We actually got a really good response with the bear community. They found our work online, and were really happy and thankful. They put it on their website and now it's everywhere.
How did your collaboration affect the creative process?
Chris: Traditionally Camila is a graphic designer, and I'm an industrial designer. So in terms of creating the art toys, she would design them in 2D, then I would take on the 3D part and look at the materials, and how we're going to work it into a 3D object. We always have a specific idea when we're designing an art toy, like a specific issues that we want to convey, and this affects the creative process.
Camila: We also collaborate with other people. For example we collaborated with a group from Santiago who are studying Chilean butterflies. We also collaborated with artisans from southern Chile who weave horse hair. We want to show the world what these people do and we want to be able to bring that tradition to everyone so they can see how amazing it is, and how important it is to keep it going. That attitude essentially embodies our concept and what it is that we are trying to achieve.
Any final words?
Chris: Whilst we are working with international communities on this project, I think it is very important to work locally with local people like Indigenous Australians. We need to share their stories as well. If you see something that they are doing that is amazing, you should use your design skills to promote their technique and tradition. Use your ability to promote it in a different form.
Camila: Plus you really learn from them, it's an amazing experience.
And were there many couples disagreements throughout the process?
Camila: (Laughs) Oh you know, stuff happens, but we really love what we do, so we really focus on not having any issues, and just getting things rights.
Chris: It does take us a while to get things right, but once they're right, they're perfect.
You can see more of Chris and Camila's work on their Website www.eggpicnic.com and their Facebook page www.facebook.com/Eggpicnic
For more information about the exhibition, check out The Corner's Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/TheCornerCooperative
- Nathan
