We’ve said before: KODA is versatile, as the design is simple and can easily transform to meet different needs. Proving this point to the dot, one of our concrete KODAs has just recently been transformed into a very special work of art by Scottish artist Rachel Maclean, and those of you who can visit Scotland are welcome to explore the installation titled upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop in person.
Situated between Glasgow and Edinburgh, Jupiter Artland is a contemporary sculpture park and art gallery, one of Scotland’s most significant arts organisations. For Jupiter Artland’s newest permanent outdoor installation, Scottish artist Rachel Maclean worked at an architectural scale – building on a concrete KODA. As our KODA Head Architect Ülar Mark put it: we provided the canvas for the artist.
Combining animation and architecture, Maclean has taken her inspiration from commercial spaces as sites of desire. She combines this with the role forests play within fairy tales, being at once places of magic, of danger, of transformation and where the normal rules of daily life no longer apply. At the end of a path, a toy shop – seemingly abandoned and derelict – will, on entering, reveal itself to be the upside-down world of cartoon princess Mimi.
Rachel Maclean: ‘Working with Jupiter Artland on this new commission has been incredible. It’s my first foray into outdoor art, and my most ambitious project to date, combining architecture, sculpture and animation. The upside-down world of Mimi has taken years of planning and hard work, so I’m really excited for folk to see it! I hope that the feeling of the world turned on its head resonates with audiences in these topsy turvy times and offers a surrealist and darkly humorous escape from lockdown life.’
The Founder Director of Jupiter Artland Foundation, Nicky Wilson states: “As one of Scotland’s most celebrated contemporary artists, Maclean’s work challenges audiences, and in its production challenges Maclean as a filmmaker. Mimi will continue to stretch our imaginations through a film that is comical and charged.”
Watch an interview with Rachel Maclean and spot KODA in the background!