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Studio HHH, the multidisciplinary design studio, specializing in large-scale art installations, interior architecture, and immersive environments, is currently running a very cool social-distancing installation called "Urban Underpass." The project is a piece of public artwork located at Bulfnch Crossing in Boston. The first immersive outdoor projection installation in Boston, featuring initial visual artwork by Zebbler, is titled City Bloom and will be on display over the next few months, with potential for rotating artwork to take the project well into 2021.
Vanessa Till Hooper, founder and creative director of Studio HHH spearheaded the outdoor projection mapping project, which makes use of 24 Epson Pro L1755UNL and Pro L1715SNL 3LCD laser projectors with a variety of short-throw, zoom and wide angle lenses. "We were approached by a client group consisting of Bulfnch Crossing developers, National Real Estate Advisors and The HYM Investment Group, represented by the creative agency, Isenberg Projects," she says.
The "Urban Underpass" space is essentially a parking garage spanning a public street bridging two buildings. It proved an ideal canvas for bringing a beautiful experience for neighbors and visitors to the area. This positive art installation paved the way for the next phase of development. The client chose the work of Zebbler from a lineup of local artists that were considered as part of the selection process.
Originally inspired by a local fower store, the animation grew from a single projection to a building-wide video texture over the course of a few months. With verdant bursts of flowers, vines and branches slowly growing over the concrete underpass of the Government Center Garage, City Bloom is designed to bring an illuminated spark of joy to Boston, with its animation playfully exploring the boundary between a static fine art installation and a VJ performance.
The idea for the project emerged in Dec. 2019. By early February, Zebbler was working fast and furiously to create his piece, which was ready to go when the Coronavirus pandemic shut everything down. "Our conversations with the client centered first on the fact that we wanted everybody to be safe, but that we thought this was still a beautiful opportunity to bring something to...