This week, “Fantastic Planet” landed on American soil and took over the unsuspecting city of Mesa, Arizona. This US premiere was a centerpiece of the 2018 American Alliance of Museums conference, and follows major international installations from Prague to Perth.

“Fantastic Planet,” a suite of six enormous illuminated humanoid (or humanish) figures, was commissioned by four cooperating festivals in 2016. The work is designed to playfully transform public space, utilizing scale and mythos to redefine the viewers’ experience of the world around them.

“Fantastic Planet” was developed by Parer Studio, a collaborative team of international designers, engineers, & production technicians led by Tasmanian artist Amanda Parer & Woodstock, NY-based Chris Wangro. Parer’s work has been exhibited by international institutions including The National Gallery of Singapore, London’s Southbank Center, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and festivals that range from the raucous “Life is Beautiful” in Las Vegas to Slovakia’s renowned “Biela Noc”. Wangro is an acclaimed creative producer whose broad range of credits include a Papal Mass in Central Park, the opening of NYC’s High Line, and projects with dignitaries as diverse as Desmond Tutu and the The Rolling Stones. Wangro’s current focus is on the development of cultural placemaking projects throughout the US.  

Parer Studio’s projects are designed to “make places pop.” They strive to bring approachable-yet-monumental artworks to the public realm and create community through shared experience. To that end they have created collaborations with Starfield - owner of the largest Mall in Korea, Unilever in Istanbul and internationally with Brookfield Properties.

Parer first drew global attention for “Intrude,” an inflatable instillation that consists of excessively large glowing white rabbits. Since “Inturde’s” initial display at the 2014 Vivid Festival the work has hopped to over 80 venues around the world, flooding social media channels and creating record-breaking crowds in the non-digital realm.

Artist’s Statement:

“I aim to raise questions about the natural world and our role within it. I communicate these themes by combining scale, drama, light, and humour. I aim to entice my audience with beautiful, mostly invasive species, which includes us, dominant in their given habitats.”

Producer’s Statement:

“Amanda and I find common ground in creating meaningful spectacle and using the unexpected to shake things up in ways that bring people together - joyfully.”

“The magic of Amanda’s work is that it inspires wonder and awe for everyone - kids & families, artworld afficandos, urbanists & architects - everyone shares a visceral and happy reaction to the work. We’re delivering tactile, shareable experiences that create community on the spot.”

----------------

Inspiration for this light installation has been taken from the 1973 Czech/ French film Fantastic Planet (French: La Planète sauvage). Which depicts a story set in an unimaginably distant future in a world of gargantuan humanoids where human beings are a feral race.

This view is shared by naturalist David Attenborough, who stated that humans are threatening their own existence and that of other species by using up the world’s resources. “We are a plague on the Earth. It’s not just climate change; it’s sheer space, places to grow food for this enormous horde. Either we limit our growth, or the natural world will do it for us,” he told the BBC Radio Times, 2017.

Web and Social Media Links

Website: https://www.parerstudio.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parerstudio/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/parerstudio?lang=en

Social media handles: @parerstudio, #parerstudio

Facebook:

Parer Studio – https://www.facebook.com/parerstudio/

Fantastic Planet – https://www.facebook.com/artbyParerStudio/

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/parerstudio