Unboxed Projects 2022
TESS had the great pleasure to work on two completely different projects within the Unboxed portfolio for 2022. Whilst SEE MONSTER and Dreamachine were polar opposites concerning their safety requirements, they shared an equally cutting edge approach to artistic vision.
SEE MONSTER, a retired north sea rig which was moved from Holland and installed in the 1930’s Lido at Weston-super-Mare, was an impressive engineering feat. TESS worked with the studio, NEWSUBSTANCE, to turn the rig into its new guise as a public art and reflection space that was safe for the public to explore. Fire safety on the open-air structure became a focal point for discussions with the NEWSUBSTANCE team and local SAG, with particular consideration being made to disabled access arrangements across the structure.
With the public opening of the installation being extended for an additional 2 weeks due to demand, SEE MONSTER was a great success, allowing people to explore the largest reuse artistic installation in the UK and learn about renewables, all whilst conquering their fear of heights in order to look out over the beautiful Severn estuary in all kinds of weather. Simon James, the project lead for TESS, commented “I even used my 86 year old parents as guinea pigs to see if we had done our job to make it safe, they are still alive, now with bigger smiles on their faces having taken a trip around the SEE MONSTER”.
In contrast to this, for the Dreamachine project, we were asked to join a Safety and Science team responsible for constantly reviewing and assessing the safety of the project. At a first glace, the vision of the project would be deemed as crazy from a conventional safety perspective; the Dreamachine was designed to use stroboscopic lighting and harmonious music to conjure mind altering perceptions of colours and shapes in the minds of the participant. Consulting alongside epilepsy and photosensitivity experts, TESS worked with the Safety and Science team to consider the risks of this cutting-edge experience and ensure all necessary precautions were adopted to protect Dreamachine visitors.
Similarly to SEE MONSTER, the Dreamachine project was a huge 5 star success in all 4 UK capital cities that it played in, with ticket requests being 200% of those available, making it a very hot ticket in town. Whilst both projects pushed the boundaries of event safety into unknown territory, TESS are hugely proud of the work we did in helping these projects become realities and ensuring the safety of all interested parties.