The artwork “Electric Bird” leads to you so many new places, its modern appearance is actually heavily based in a real old school grid of science and math yet its structure is full of movement and fluidity. The design functions in a variety of ways, its initial visual allows it to appear current and on trend, its make up and design allows an audience to discuss its roots in academia and traditional art forms whilst its movement and swelling forms make it appear fresh and new from every angle.

The design has been created on a bed of grid work designed by the artist and mathematician M.C Escher. Initially his grid was designed to fit tessellating shapes of butterflies. With every edge of each butterfly touching his artwork was debatably flat and lacked an extra dimension that allowed it to be a successful visual rather than just a pattern work. With the Electric Bird design every negative space that flows around each teardrop is just as important as the positive space and therefore lends itself greatly to the shadow screen design. The negative space gives our eyes the freedom to move and link between each form and define our own visual path which in this design is often a fluid journey as we move between the swelling sizes of the shapes in the artwork. If you look closely you can make out each defining wave of the artwork as Electric Bird is made up of one set of teardrops in the shape of a butterfly which is then repeated in circular arrays and endlessly fits together to make the full composition.

Now that you know where the design came from and how it fits together you can take pride in its modern appearance as well as discussing its traditional design structure but what was even more important to me as a designer is to give the artwork a visual purpose to serve as a graphic that speaks volumes about who I am and what I have to say. I have mentioned the artworks fluidity and swelling a lot when I talk about this design and the reason for this is due to the commentary I am trying to insert into its design. I wanted the artwork the have a sense of emotion and mood, in all of my works there are great references to the sea, surf culture, a relaxed but up beat way of life, and so on. This design was put together so that as a Shadow Screen sits in a room it not only is a new piece of furniture it is a voice, an amplifying sound that resonates a mood. The Electric Bird speaks volumes of calm and cool, the way the design expands and shrinks mimics the movements of the waves, tides and the ocean and allows the screen to give out a sense of calm and serenity.

I hope this can bring great clarity to this design and give the opportunity to many new viewers to enjoy the artwork in an array of new dimensions. If you have any opinions on the design, any feelings about the visual or any questions I would love to hear from you. You can write them on the facebook group and I will answer as many of them as I can.

Matthew Kavan Brooks, KavanStudio

As I considered the functionality of a shadow screen, first thing that came to my mind was the importance of background cosiness it creates.  How would it contribute to the harmony of a different space. However, I found it quite challening to generate a design that would provide every single space with something fresh and fulfilling.

We grab 5 minutes with Paul Kerlaff, the man behind Central Station’s Shadow Screen competition. He’s looking for people from a variety of creative backgrounds to submit designs for his free-standing and fixed screens commissioned through With Kerlaff. There’s a fee and a licensing agreement for the winner.

How would you describe the competition in one sentence?

A chance to build new working relationships across design disciplines, with some hard cash thrown in for good measure.

What are your reasons for collaborating with Central Station on the project?

Central Station is the ideal place to run the Shadow Screen project, because it’s a new, open platform accessible by all disciplines. As a network, it has the reach and technical capability, but in the end it is the team that I’m working with and the people that make up the Central Station community that create the real value. Like any online entity, it’s nothing without the people.

What excites you most about the project?

I genuinely have no idea what the entries will be like, and that’s a great thing. Process that creates the opportunity for surprise can often yield the most valuable results.

Any areas you are more hesitant about?

My greatest fear is that the entries will play it safe.

What is it about past Shadow Screen designs that have stood out for you?

Jacqueline Poncelet’s designs are very successful because they evoke natural silhouettes in a synthetic material. The Maple Leaf design, for example, is great because it can be cropped to any size – but I’m looking for designs which compliment rather than imitate the existing range. I have a huge respect for the skill of textile artists and other skilled creative people, which is why I’m asking for their input rather than designing everything myself.

If you could give one piece of advice to applicants what would it be?

It’s better to regret something that you have done rather than something you haven’t. Take risks.

Find out more about the Shadow Screen opportunity here.