The Good, the Bad and the Brave The campaign for Dublin Fringe Festival was themed around the physics term ‘Interference Fringe’ – “any of the light, dark or coloured bands produced by diffraction or the interference of light”. Thematically, we explored how light, colour and refraction could be used as a means of interfering with or disrupting the ordinary and visually representing the power of the festival.
There needed be a sense of independence and mischief, and an urban, even slightly seedy feel to the imagery that suggested the power transgressive potency of the festival haunting the city. Then, because we enjoy a challenge, we set ourselves the mighty task of creating not one but three different covers, shot panoramically in a folded triptych format featuring the subject in the centre panel.
The locations needed to be both identifiable as a part of Dublin but not featuring obvious or overused visual signifiers — the Chimneys, the Spire, Georgian doorframes, et cetera. The final locations were on Pigeon House Road near the Poolbeg incinerator; outside the Sorrento chipper in Stoneybatter; and on the Art Deco bathing shelters on the promenade at Clontarf. We stylised the shoots using red and yellow lighting gels to illuminate the subjects and locations. Our lighting design combined spectacularly with dramatic, early summer sunsets to create a series of powerful and cinematic results.
Of course, the art needed to come first so we pushed the people who made it to the forefront. The amazing and talented Thommas Kane Byrne, Dagogo Hart + Felicia Olusanya and Liv O’Donoghue were chosen as upcoming artists whose work represented the scope the diversity of the Fringe programme. Using the talented eye of photographer Myles Shelly and our own production team, we created work which shows the value of bringing disruptive and challenging ideas out of the shadows.