The images, mounted in gigantic frames by wide-format specialist MacroArt, have transformed the alleys and streets around it, bringing the reality of catastrophic climate change to Soho.
What was produced?
MacroArt created an exhibition space that stretches over 45x4.5m of exterior wall, and around a corner, and provided the gallery with a permanent and reusable venue for very large-format photography.
What did the job entail?
Working closely with Field & Lawn, the placemaking and events company that contracted MacroArt, the business designed and installed a freestanding aluminium structure with brackets, lighting troughs and framework sections.
The images were printed on MacroArt’s 5m Durst Rho 512R Plus, printing over 200sqm onto PVC-free Kavalan, before being trimmed by hand.
What challenges were overcome?
“This was a challenging project,” said Andrew Conway, senior project manager at MacroArt.
“It required in-depth attention to the technical detail, combining complex fitting requirements, and very large graphics.”
He added that the project was also subject to strict safety and sustainability requirements. However, thanks to close collaboration with Field & Lawn, project architects Andreas Lechthaler Architecture, lighting suppliers and local government, MacroArt managed to complete installation in just eight days.
The print from this exhibition, and those that follow, will be fully recycled after the event too, allowing the gallery to meet its sustainability goals.
What was the feedback?
Having had ambitions of bringing art out into the street, the team at The Photographers’ Gallery was thrilled with the result, according to Karen McQuaid, its senior curator.
“It was certainly exciting to install Gideon’s work at this impressive scale. Obviously it has a particular relationship to the streetscape around us, and we’re really pleased with the print quality.”
The scale of the portraits and direct nature of the art, she added, creates a striking effect on the street.
“To be able to produce them at that scale, in a place that is as populated and as busy as Soho’s Photography Quarter, is a really great opportunity, and we’re really pleased the results hold together in the streetscape – people are engaging, especially after dusk when the accompanying projection comes on.”
