Art and creative direction for Robert Zhao Renhui's project and solo exhibition 'The Land Archive' (2011)
Completed the art and creative direction for Robert Zhao Renhui's project, 'The Land Archive' in 2011, for his solo show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) at LaSalle College of the Arts Singapore.
The initial brief from the artist, was just a regular exhibition catalogue — but after my own inquiry into the work, hanging with the artist and countless conversations, I mooted the idea of "expanding the universe" for his body of work. To create mystery and mythology, and to expand the framework with regards to perceptions of his art, allowing people to further understand and thus become more invested in it. This was pitched alongside the creation of "replica artifacts", basically a mass reproduction of artwork and the commodification of research material as merchandise. The marriage of an expanded universe and commodification helped to build a following and fanbase, with people being able to parse the artist's language, and like "B-side" albums, people were able to access a trove of information that gave depth and much context to the exhibitions, and came in collectible forms that one could collect and buy.
Thus, the "book program" was mooted with the above stated goals of universe expansion and public education for the art-curious. The program was a runaway success, and is still being used to this day — albeit having been undertaken by other people.
The first iteration in the "book program", 'The Land Archive' (TLA) was created to be the opposite of the brief — deliberately intended not to be a catalogue, but instead a reproduction of a "lost" research document/dossier from TLA. As proposed, unique and bespoke artwork/content were created by the artist exclusively for the book that were not in the exhibition. Alongside the programming, the logo, the book itself, and the accompanying collaterals were designed specifically for this project.
Removable "partial cover" book jacket
Promotional flyers
