David Bowie is widely considered one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
Granted access to Bowie’s personal archive of performance costumes, ephemera, and original artwork, 59, a Journey studio, in collaboration with Real Studios, created a blockbuster international exhibition that explores the creative mind of this cultural polymath across his five-decade career.
‘David Bowie is’ transfigures visitors in a kaleidoscopic, shapeshifting journey across Bowie’s life, from early origins in London, through the breakthroughs of Space Oddity, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and on to his wider impact on avant-garde art.
59, a Journey studio, collaborated with Real Studios to design the David Bowie Is exhibition for the V&A Museum. The collaboration marked a departure for the V&A – this is the first time that a production company has been invited to lead the design of an exhibition for the museum.
The design of the exhibition drew influence from Bowie’s myriad artistic influences: Surrealism, Expressionism, the Beat Poets, Cabaret and Kabuki Theatre amongst many others.
Over the course of a year-long period of research and development, 59’s Mark Grimmer led the design process, working closely with Real Studios’ Mike Hawkes, interpreting and expanding upon the brief provided by the exhibition’s curators, Geoff Marsh and Victoria Broackes.
The exhibition combined a significant amount of set design with a number of video projection installations, and created an almost dreamlike environment which visitors were encouraged to explore in a non-linear fashion.
An eclectic selection of over 300 objects, mainly lent by The David Bowie Archive, including handwritten lyrics, drawings, costumes and set designs were brought together and presented within a series of distinct environments which reflected Bowie’s constantly changing identity and omnivorous consumption of culture.
Since its premiere in September 2013, David Bowie Is continues to tour the world, appearing in Toronto, Sao Paolo, Berlin, Chicago, Paris, Melbourne, Groningen, Bologna, Tokyo and Barcelona and it has now been seen by over 1.5 million visitors worldwide.
Impact
Winner
Museums + Heritage Awards: Best Temporary/Touring ExhibitionWinner
Design Week Awards: Exhibition Design - Highly Commended
A triumph…The curators of this thrilling show have raided David Bowie’s archive for the first time, and its depth is astonishing