As a group we experimented with a derelict office block in Bethnal Green. The space was dark and atmospheric. The experience meant I was able to get rid of inhabitions and rules and got to be creative and inventive and react to the space at that specific moment.
We spent the first day working in teams creating a variety of spaces and creating different feelings and emotions. For example we created the feeling of comfort in one small space. We invited the audience member in and put their feet in cold water. We then brought them to the space and gave them gloves and a jumper. We then passed them a cup of tea through a hole in the wall. The idea was to give them the illusion of discomfort and then to create warmth and a friendly atmosphere as a contrast.
Above and below are images of the space my group created. We had a small office with a very tall ceiling. We used a piece of writing called the Elk King and created the forest leading to his house. We made our forest like a childs forest. We wanted there to be something unsettling about the space so we layered the floor with cigarette butts. We filled balloons with water to look like juicy berries and drew childlike draweing over the wall. The den led you up into the trees and whilst standing on the level you were able to see above the roof tops. We created two levels to utilise the space we had. Below shows a before and after pictures of our space.
The entire experience was really rewarding and I met some lovely designers and some have kept in contact. I hope to work with punchdrunk again and continue creating these amazing environments. This felt like a rare opportunity to have and I loved every minute!
The hand which delivered the tea!
Our office space before we created the forest. A seemingly daunting task to create a forest in such an industrial and strong space.
Above image shows the space underground before we got our hand on it!
