6B2 - As a result of this I contacted Harewood house about volunteering for their next Christmas installation.
Lord Whitney are 'connoisseurs of make believe' and pride themselves on not have a defined discipline. They have done set design, editorial, music videos, tv and immersive experiences, across a range of clients with big names. They were inspired by The Mighty Boosh and Annie Atkins and have very extravagant and bold ideas. They have a lot of knowledge about random techniques and solutions that they have built across the years. Some of their work includes:
- A Niki Minaj music video which included a team of 30 different people that needed coordinating.
- ITV Creatives which were adverts for television programs. One of which included sourcing 3000 glass jars.
- Worked with Netflix to create a 'behind the scenes' set for social media. Involved researching prop design and sets for Stranger Things, Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars.
- Used art council funding to research folklore across Yorkshire. Got a series of photographs and made a 'choose your own story' book. A bespoke typeface was made for it, with different stocks, with different features like fold outs.
- Pitched an idea of Leeds Council to create a folklore themed winter experience in Leeds museum, instead of the Christmas grotto they originally asked for. Suggesting its important to take chances and make bold moves in order to do work you're really fond of. They created an installation in the crypt of a mysterious woods. They didn't have time to finely tune it but the ambiguity suited the theme.
This Seeds of Hope project was something that I found particularly relevant to my own practice. I have a keen interest in design for history and resurrecting ideas and stories from the past creatively. This is something that I want to potentially go into in the future.
The Seeds of Hope project was an immersive installation forged from extensive research about Harewood House's role in WW1. They read letters and stories and papers about the time and created a guide telling several people's story at Harewood. People could take what they wanted from this, with the installation giving clues and stories that linked to the guide. Everything was down to the research, which is something Lord Whitney seems to take incredibly seriously. For the installation itself, the immersion seemed most important. They focused on things like smell and made sure there was no signage in the actual rooms, which would have pulled from the experience.
They were also involved in the gardening, responsible for planting a peace garden with cosmo flowers. Which acknowledged those who were lost and symbolising mental recovery. They also planted a sunflower for every person that recovered at Harewood House. The sunflower heads followed the sun and were planted in sandbags similar to those used in war. The seeds could also be taken, as the guest's very own 'seeds of hope'.
Advice for the Future
Lord Whitney said yes to everything and its helped them learn what to say no to. They advise to stick to your guns and not to give into client stress. Their personal creative work has lead to client interest which suggests the importance of making work you enjoy. They talked a lot about the balance between doing work you enjoy and earning money for it, it is something that needs consideration and equal weight.
What I think was most interesting about this experience was that Lord Whitney created a job for themselves and paved their own way. They saw a gap in the market and began making work that they enjoyed and others enjoyed too. For my future I hope to not loose sight of a job that I enjoy, and to consider the steps I could make in achieving it. Lord Whitney have created so much in 10 years, including Scott Hall Mills which is a creative organisation filled with designers working on their own practice.
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