RONE’s latest exhibition EMPIRE is truly a standout piece of work. The largest and most complex offering from the artist, the installation at art deco building Burnham Beeches took an entire year to create.
Clearlight Shows was lucky once again to be able to work with RONE to achieve his vision of a hauntingly decayed opulent mansion. Our very own John McKissock worked with RONE over the last year to create a lighting palette that complemented the artists delicate portraits and artfully destroyed accoutrements.
There were 12 main wall pieces that were all individually lit, along with botanical installations and scene furniture. RONE’s team also created a soundscape and a smellscape for the event, to create a fully immersive experience for the viewer. The light haze that builds up over the mansion as you explore it adds to the feeling of immersion in the scenery and allows the lighting effects to pop.
For the continuous haze we used two Swefog Ultimate 2000 Haze machines, it begins with a light haze that spreads well throughout the large space. This is designed to work with the viewers experience, as each group spends around 1.5 hours in the exhibition, so there is a feeling with the mood growing and intensifying as you explore the mansion.
For lighting the wall pieces, we used temporary autopoles to hold accent profile spots, and we added general up-lighting throughout the venue with versatile LED Pars.
Beam effects were done with Par 16 fixtures and the gallery space was lit with Aureol Beam Shapers, all the floor lights for lighting the tree structures were LED to minimize the heat amongst the leaves and trees.
The installation lighting for various rooms was the most exciting, with hidden elements making it seem as though parts of the installation were self-illuminated and glowing from the inside out.
Ultimately working with RONE on his latest exhibition has been a rewarding challenge, and his installation exhibition EMPIRE is a once in a lifetime event not to be missed.
