Interview | Zara Pasfield and Renzo B.Larriviere, co-creators of Photosynthesis Ballet: Florescenti

Next up on our local artists interview segment are Zara Pasfield and Renzo B.Larriviere, the co-creators of Photosynthesis Ballet: Florescentia (and Evanescent) at Curiocity Brisbane from the 12th-28th of March. Here's what they had to say...

VIRAG: When I first read about your work being featured as a part of Curiocity Brisbane, I was so intrigued and hooked by the words photosynthesis ballet and thought this is a work that I have to see. How did you come up for the idea for this work?

ZARA: This was actually a project that started with the kinetic movement, informing the poetic narrative. Both Renzo and I have been drawn to kinetics in art, so we used this as a starting point to work from.

RENZO: We have always been fascinated by the Fibonacci sequence found in nature. This inspired the final patterns and shapes we tried to achieve through the kinetics. Once we had finessed the movement, the resemblance to this phenomena was undeniable.

VIRAG: What was the creative process like for a work of this scale?

RENZO: Like most of our projects it actually started with us playing with materials and experimenting with new ways we could manipulate them. Inspiration and the conceptual origins. An come from anywhere, but we do use a lot of polypropylene in our work, and at the time we were looking at ways that we could incorporate form and movement.

ZARA: Experimentation is key! We are immune to 'failed' experiments, nine times out of ten one failure becomes a new concept and driving force for a new project. There is a lot of trial and error in creating a moving artwork like Florescentia.

VIRAG: In your own respective creative practices, have you done any art installations or works that were similar in design to that of Florescentia?

RENZO: I have explored kinetics a couple of times in the past. One of my most recent kinetic works is titled Manta Rain, it is a work that mimics the fluid movement of a manta ray in the water, accompanied with a rain-like soundscape. The work was a reaction to the droughts across Australia, but it was away to also ignite the curiosity about the creatures that live in our oceans.

VIRAG: I imagine that it must be quite liberating and a sigh of relief to work in a collaborative environment with creatives after being restricted to zoom interactions for the most part of the past year. How did it feel to be able to be in the same rehearsal space again?

ZARA: It has been amazing to see and work with our colleagues in Queensland. Being based in Sydney we have been separated by borders, making collaborations trickier than ever. Just having the privilege of exhibiting our work in the public sphere has been very rewarding and has certainly inspired us creatively.

VIRAG: Lastly, how can we support your work? What would you like us to keep an eye out for?

BOTH: You can see more of our work and updates on where you can see our work being exhibited throughout the year on our instagram platforms:

pineapple_designstudio@instagram.com and chimera.atelier@instagram.com

And keep an eye out for our official collaborative creative venture under the name Atelier Sisu. We will be creating what we hope to be bold, inventive but inclusive works.

To post a comment, you must register and login.