Rainbow City Art Basel Miami, FL 2010

FriendsWithYou presented Rainbow City alongside Paper Magazine and Pharrell Williams for Art Basel 2010 Miami, FL – Rainbow City is a forty piece environmental installation addressing the potency of interaction, ritual, and play during Art Basel Miami 2010. Originally commissioned by Luminato Festival of the Arts in Toronto and inspired by Holi, a festival effectuated by Hindu followers throwing brightly colored water and powder at each other, FriendsWithYou presents a vibrant collection of mutable, air- filled sculptures. Fabricated from intensely colored and receptive materials, the installation encourages visitors to be active and explore, subsequently inventing their own ritual. The individual structures are simple, minimal forms that borrow aesthetics from toy- like geometry and design and tower over guests, as each element’s height ranges from ten to forty feet. By dwarfing the audience, the totemic pieces trigger a sense of reverence, similar to the visual of a monolithic monument. During interaction, the inflated sculptures “embrace” visitors, while repetitive sound elements further enhance the sensory experience.The overall installation creates a surreal landscape of psychedelic scenery intended to simultaneously provoke a religious and childlike awareness. Rainbow City invites spectators to participate in a responsive environment, offering an opportunity to connect physically and psychologically with an energetic yet ephemeral setting. This exhibition took place in the heart of Miami’s Design District during Art Basel 2010. Rainbow City brought an estimated 20,000 people to the installation over the course of five days. The experience was named one of the largest and most exciting site- specific installations offered at Art Basel Miami 2010.

Rainbow City  by FriendsWithYou is presented by AOL. in association with NATIVE Shoes, PAPER Magazine, Dacra, OHWOW Gallery, & WeSC.

Friends With You // RAINBOW CITY from PAPER Magazine on Vimeo.

Pharrell Williams from PAPER Magazine on Vimeo.