AIRBAG + artist Rob McHaffie launch interactive artwork for kids for Court Services Victoria

AIRBAG’s recent interactive artwork ‘Feathers in the Wind’ – in collaboration with artist Rob McHaffie  – has launched at Bendigo Law Courts.

Commissioned by Agency Untitled and Court Services Victoria, AIRBAG was briefed to create a work that would be particularly appealing to children, and help alleviate the stress of a court visit. The large-scale interactive artwork in the Children’s Court foyer gives kids, and other court attendees, a charming and fantastical digital world to escape the tedium and anxiety. Children dance with bird-people, fly kites, play with falling leaves, and discover secret spaces where curious native wildlife spring to life.

AIRBAG head of creative technology Steven Nicholson said the challenge for the project was to seamlessly merge traditional painting with interactive digital technologies in a way that welcomes the viewer in to play with the work: “We have so much wonderful technology at our disposal – but from a user experience point of view – we always want that to be as invisible as possible. Kids especially find this form of interactivity so easy to drop into and develop their own play-like behaviours. It’s also so wonderful to be leveraging these hand painted assets, in a medium that usually has such a firmly digital aesthetic.”

AIRBAG creative technologist Dan Macnish said the team prioritised high quality, durable materials to ensure the artwork delivered a lasting legacy for the landmark Bendigo Law Courts precinct: “We designed  the work to be as accessible as possible. So whether you’re a four-year-old child, an adult, or if you are using a wheelchair, then the experience using the work is the same.”

With the addition of colouring in, attendees can add their own creative flare via three options of line drawings which are then scanned to display on the screen as part of the main interactive work.

McHaffie said children can look at the beautiful landscapes and be reminded there is a world outside of the court buildings, which have traditionally been austere and sometimes intimidating spaces: “We thought of the therapeutic qualities that nature has, and that it would be wonderful to bring (nature) inside the Law Courts.”

‘Feathers in the Wind’ by AIRBAG and Rob McHaffie is on permanent display at the Bendigo Law Courts.

More of AIRBAG’s Experiential work can be viewed here.

Client: Court Services Victoria
Commissioning Curators: Kelly Gellatly & Kirsty Grant
Artist: Rob McHaffie

Production Company: AIRBAG
Head of Creative Technology: Steven Nicholson
Creative Technologist: Dan Macnish
Producer: Johanna Rayner
Managing Partner: Adrian Bosich
Executive Producer: Martin Box
Animator: Henry Bullen
FX: Jack Cornish
Developer: Stephen Burns
Storyboards: Xavier Irvine
Screen: OnQ Digital Group
Architect: Kah-Fai Lee, John Wardle Architects