About
Illusionarium was a trail of installations and sculptures inspired by light and illusion. It was curated on levels 3 & 4 of The Mercury Shopping Centre in Romford. Funded by The Mercury and the Havering Changing Art Council community fund, the theme for Illusionarium was 'Journey'. The theme intended to interrogate 'non-spaces' and travel within the public realm. It was organised by The NO Collective and created in collaboration with local artists, makers and thinkers for members of the public to enjoy and play with during the cold, wintery weather.
Project Gallery
Transcendence
Installed in a scenic lift, this was a journey to an ‘unknown’ altitude. A simple green interior and movement towards (and away) from the sky mimicked a weather cycle and paralleled the feeling of stalled progression in sustainability.
Transcendence was developed between artists 'The NO Collective' and 'Bluerskies'.
Pop-Go
Inspired by Peter Blake's bold 60's Pop-Art imagery, this light tunnel wall creates an illusion of depth whilst paying homage to album art.
This light illusion was designed by 'The NO Collective' and developed by the on site Mercury team.
Figment
Installed on glass surrounding escalators, a spectrum of colour showers its audience as they get close, creating the illusion of a temporary inking.
This light illusion was designed by The NO Collective and installed by the Mercury team.
Romford Constellation
The Romford Constellation was a participatory artwork designed by The NO Collective and developed by residents of Romford. By naming a star and dedicating its place within the installation, shape and dimension were given to this contemporary cartography of the town.
Stardom
'Stardom' was donated to the Illusionarium scheme by 'James Glancy Design'.
While inclining the mind towards space travel, the star shape and bold lights personified a 'personal goal', specific in its timeliness and placement at the 'ultimate' journey's end for stardom - The Big Screen!
The Cloud was an ultra-tangible communication space - a phenomenological experience that was bizarre, playful and a great conversation starter!
'The Cloud' was developed by 'The NO Collective' and a group of local artists, including students from Havering Colleges and 'Bluerskies' creatives.
The Cloud
Illusionarium Make Day
The Collective hosted a 'Make Day' event to engage members of the public in the illusionary installations. Over the course of the day, hundreds of families took part: making a 'Figment' inspired stained glass windows to take home; playing with shadow puppets; adding a star to the Romford constellation or enjoying The Cloud and other illusionarium sculptures. To engage further in the ideas behind illusion within art, the collective also created reflective toys to explore, and developed this non-formal educational worksheet:
Thank you to our supporters:
Havering Changing