A cluster of giant fangs now greets you when entering the ACTEWAGL foyer in Canberra.

The new sculptural installation was commissioned to celebrate ACTEWAGL’s 10th anniversary and had to fulfil the one and only demand of their chairman John Mackay: to be dramatic.

“I want to have to employ a full time cleaner to have to wipe the nose marks off the window every morning”, says Mackay.

The winning submission, a maze of light-filled ‘Ossolites’, was a collaboration between Canberra-based artist Robert Foster (from Fink Design) and Sydney’s Frost* Design.

These ‘Ossolites’ (the name stems from a combination of the Latin word for bone ‘osso’ and the concept of ‘oscillating’) are programmed to create ‘dramatic and interactive sequences of light’, achieving the eye-catching effect ACTEWAGL was hoping for.

According to the team at Frost*Design, the creative partnership evolved after they were approached by Foster, with the suggestion they team up for the pitch.

Ever since that moment the project has been highly collaborative:

‘We worked together closely for over 18 months to develop the concept for the foyer installation, through to implementation. Foster/Frost* also art directed the lighting animations and interior design concepts.’

To ensure the installation wasn’t left dislocated from its new environment, Frost* and Foster also worked closely with Cox Humphries Moss Architects to ensure stylistic cohesion throughout the foyer and also in the café area.

 

Robert Foster
finkdesign.com

Frost* Design
frostdesign.com.au