Our installation for the Rigg Design Prize ‘Take it Outside’ 2018 playfully explores the ambiguous space between inside and out, assaulting the visitor’s senses with colour, layering, texture, sound and light, drawing us in and immersing us in the experience in a way that blurs the boundaries between inside and out. This sense of not knowing what is in or out is taken to a new level by the use of a highly polished mirrored ‘floor’ and ‘balustrade’, that reflect back to the visitor the rich ochre colours of the desert, and the deep blue night sky above.
We are honoured to be one of ten leading Australian interior design practices selected as finalists for the triennial 2018 Rigg Design Prize, the most prestigious design prize in the country, run by the National Gallery of Victoria (see attached media release). The exhibition runs from 12 October 2018 – 24 February 2019 at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia.
The theme of the 2018 Rigg Design prize, the first ever to focus on interior design, is Domestic Living. Amber Road’s installation, ‘speaks of our multiple and shared heritages, and at the same time, reads like a list of iconic Australianness: a musk stick pink screen, rammed earth, lycra, terry towelling, a pair of thongs, mozzie coils, the sound of cicadas…. a space that is pregnant with possibility: imagined stories, multiple layers, lived experiences, hopes and dreams.
‘Take it Outside’ 2018 celebrates the transition between inside and outside living spaces, a concept that is central to our practice and is found in many cultures. In Australia, this transitional inside/outside ‘room’ is known as ‘the porch’ or ‘the verandah’. On one level, the verandah is an extension of space. It can be many other things: a mediator of climate and a protector of privacy, an external passage, a voyeuristic place from which to watch other dwellings and happenings, a place for receptions and homecomings, a room for storytelling, and often, for confidences or secrets…or simply a place for rest, and contemplation.
‘Take it Outside’ 2018 also refers to its creators’ multiple heritages: Middle Eastern /Australia (Yasmine) and Eastern Europe, Australia (Katy), as well as their travels and time spent living overseas, in Europe, Spain, and The United States where in the south, wrap around verandahs are an essential element of every home.
It evokes the sister’s memories of cherished time spent on their grandparent’s and cousins’ farms in Australia; sitting on the porch, ‘chewing the fat’ and gasbagging with family after extended periods of time apart. This installation invites you to join Katy and Yasmine on their porch, portico, loggia, gallery, salon, vestibule… verandah – whatever name you want to call it by - and to experience some of the kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, smells, textures and stories that can be found there.
