With Nomadic Studio set in stone on the calendar, and our booking acumen pushed to the max to wrangle and organize the dozens of individuals set to participate, Beth Wiedner, Brian McNally and I decided to make our prototype for the exhibit a reality. We couldn’t think of better way to showcase the nomadic theme of our work than to build a scale replica of the entire exhibit that was portable in and of itself.
After getting all our dimensions, we headed down to Brian and Gwen Ihnat’s Rumpus Room to build our Boîte-en-valise that would be on display for the duration of Nomadic. We sourced some nice baltic birch, a piano hinge, clasps, and a handle to bring the Portable Nomadic Studio to fruition. We even got some amber shellac to stain it to match the walls of the Rumpus Room, which would in turn be the centerpiece of the exhibit. A room inside a box inside a room inside a box, if you will.
The Portable Nomadic Studio seen in the photo is the end result of this process. We shrouded it in a little mystery, as it remained closed for most of the exhibit. This was done both as something totemic to signify the whole project, but also to buy us the time to recreate as much of the artwork as possible. There was so much to replicate! Tour groups were offered a peek inside the box, and as Nomadic Studio changed, so did its portable counterpart.
Thanks for your time today!
Faiz
