In August 2012 I had the opportunity to demonstrate the Oomph tablet publishing platform to the team at the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Rocks in Sydney. The museum later went on to use the platform to create their first app, a 'living catalogue', for the Anish Kapoor exhibition. The app evolved over the course of the exhibition in three editions, the Preview, Installation and Final editions.
In March 2013 I was fortunate to be asked to shoot a series of 360˚ panoramic images of the installations, for the Final edition, before they were dismantled at the end of the exhibition. So it was on chilly, still dark morning, that I found myself in front of the museum starring up at the dark face of the Sky Mirror. It was an overcast morning and I knew I had about ten minutes to setup before sunrise. I took up a position directly in front of the mirror with the old MCA building lined up behind it. As luck would have it the skies cleared and there was brief moment when the clouds parted and the sunrise lit the sky.
Anish Kapoor - Sky Mirror [equirectangular image]
The Sky Mirror is a six-metre-wide concave dish of polished stainless steel weighing ten tonnes and angled up towards the sky. Its surface reflects the ever-changing environment. Around the back is an equally enticing vista as the convex surface provides an stunning reflection.
Anish Kapoor - Sky Mirror back [equirectangular image]
The following day I had an early morning meeting with Keir Winesmith the Manager, Digital Media at MCA. The Anish Kapoor exhibitions rooms were almost deserted with only the morning staff occasionally passing through. Keir gave me a personal tour with lots of anecdotes relating to the various exhibit pieces as we decided on what locations we would shoot.
One of my favourite installations is Memory. Memory, a 24-ton metallic blimp measuring approximately 47 x 29 x 15 feet overall, is imposing at a number of levels. At the time of the shoot I felt it needed a human presence to provide both spatial and human vs metal relationship. Fortunately Keir was happy to provide the human aspect.
Anish Kapoor - Memory [Panorama]
You can find the app on iTunes
