Asteroid City Exhibition
Client: Fondazione Prada
Location: Fondazione Prada, Milan
Date of Completion: June 2023
When the exhibition dedicated to Wes Anderson’s 11th film toured to the Prada Foundation in Milan, it was decided that the stunning concrete space should be left untouched, providing a strikingly high contrast backdrop for the varicoloured sets, props, costumes and artworks from the movie. This juxtaposition helped to draw focus to the darker themes of mystery and artifice at work beneath the vivid pastels and soft, matt textures of the films landscape.
The two hero colours of sand and sky blue that defined the exhibition at 180 The Strand continue to do their work here, transforming the centrally positioned cubes that divide the space into backdrops for props, and enabling their mass to create a moment of surprise for the visitor, as they move through and discover there is more to explore.
Large format desert prints from the movie’s iconic billboard set the scene, establishing dramatic context and scale and drawing the visitor further in. Carefully positioned sound, ranging from voice only to the film’s distinctive musical soundtrack, works to help to transport the visitor into the Wes Anderson’s finely wrought, self-contained world.
As before at 180 The Strand, the clustered displays were curated to recreate key moments or scenes from the film, rather than reconstructing its chronological journey. Again also, the aim of our design approach was to invite visitors close up, bringing the objects in for examination where possible, to celebrate the handmade tactility and craft of the films many props and miniatures which contribute so richly to its layered depth and intensity. This approach also served sustainability concerns, minimising need for structural display materials.
