Imagined Lairs Swatchbook & Animation Application
Supernatural Naturalist
Pattern, Art, Design & Architecture
Imagined Lairs Imagined Lairs takes a look at how man views unique plantlife. The concept stems from an amalgamation of two key ideas during the 19th century—Charles Darwin’s study drawings of carnivorous plants and the interest in gothic horror novels of the Victorian era. Supernatural being like vampires were popular characters during that time and the emergent drawings of carnivorous plants fuelled the imagination of writers. A famous example is a novel about a group of explorers who set out to find the fabled man-eating Ya-Te-Veo tree of Madagascar. My banner represents the idea of an imagined space inhabited by these exaggerated monster-plant forms. Such spaces are imagined because they are formed in the minds of man at the time when they were looking into the bizarre to satisfy their desire for new stories. These imagined carnivorous plants are represented by the motifs which are then placed in environments that replicate the wilderness. The drawings are digitally sketched to look like lithography etchings used in book illustrations of the 19th century while displaying details. Since these motifs represent an imagined carnivorous plant, they are also given unique plant names that exist in wild habitats. The banner, as well as the swatches illustrate these wild habitats.
Motifs The set of motifs created for this project are based on study drawings and photographs of insectivorous plants. Each motif represents a species or sub-species of insectivorous plant and has a name based on their features. The design of the motifs are based on the descriptions of various species of plants.
Byblis
Double Byblis Pinguicula Cross-breed, stemless rosette, hairy leaves
Byblis Pinguicula _____ Cross-breed, stemless rosette, hairy leaves
Nepenthes Viridis Pitcher plant, bulb / cup form
Byblis Liniflora Sticky, hairy leaves
Pinguicula Pumila Rossetes of fleshy carnivrous leaves
Pinguicula Nepenthes Cross-breed, stemless rosette made of pitcher bulbs
Pinguicula Laxifolia Cross-breed, pointed- leaf rosette, hairy leaves
Dionaea Multiple speciea featured, two mobile leaf blades
Drosera Adelae Movable sticky glandular tentacles
Dionaea Multiple species featured, clusters
Pinguicula Ramosa Rossetes of fleshy carnivrous leaves
Byblis Lamellata Elongated leaves tapered at end, dense grandular hairs
Byblis Filifolia Elongated leaves tapered at end, dense grandular hairs
Pinguicula Zecheri Rossetes of fleshy carnivrous leaves with spikes
Dionaea Municipula Single tentacle within two leaf blades
Pinguicula Primuliflora Dense rossetes of fleshy carnivrous leaves
Repeat systems: Swatches The swatches are created with three ideas stemming from the main concept of this project
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Man looking at the wild unknown as the habitat of exotic creatures, hoping to discover something new and exciting through exploration.
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Man looking new plant species, specifically insectivorous plants and ‘othering’ them because unlike the usual plants, they are mobile, thus in the swatches, they are placed in space without context.
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
A revival of imagined monster plants refering to science-fiction films where lab experiments go wrong and fantasical monster plants are born, popular durng the 90’s.
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Seamless repeat
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Seamless repeat
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Seamless repeat
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Plants as disconnected objects
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Seamless repeat
Seamless repeat
Looking at the wild: Dense foliage
Lab experiments: Cross-breeds
Rotation repeat, mirroring
Animation The animation has a narrative flow structured around the idea of monster plants growing and evolving in a fantasical world. It’s proposed application site is the pedestrian tunnel linking Esplanade Park and Empress Place underneath a quiet greenery. The tunnel has an eerie feel to match the look and feel of the dark and quirky animation.