The studio was approached by Nowness, the video channel premiering the best in global arts and culture, to create a short film celebrating the launch of a new range of bicycles by design house Van Dyke Contemporary Cycles.
A bicycle wheel is transformed into an homage to early op art in this mesmerizing collaboration with Van Dyke inspired by the likes of Bridget Riley, we used LED strips and motion control systems to create a hypnotic vortex that momentarily threatens to suck the viewer in.
The studio explored the intersection of sculpture, architecture, live performance, moving image and digital installation so devised the film's surging soundtrack using audio effects of the bike company’s latest limited-collection release, Purple Blast (a nod to the color of solar flares). The result is a crafty reference to Marcel Duchamp’s early 20th-century notion of the readymade.
Location: London
Date: 2012
Client: Van Dyke Contemporary Cycles
Commissioned by: Nowness
Role: Film direction and technical production
Music: Nick Ryan
Photos: James Medcraft