Cannes Lions
SAPIENTRAZORFISH, Singapore / ASIA PACIFIC BREWERIES / 2017
Awards:
Overview
Entries
Credits
Description
Instead of breaking the law, we chose to break normal.
The Art Hack.
A collaboration between our creative team, technologists, and local street artists to spray light, instead of paint, across iconic buildings of Singapore.
Execution
A traditional spray can was fitted with an infrared LED triggered by pressure on the nozzle. A set of Wii remotes continuously tracked the coordinates of the can to turn any surface into a blank digital canvas. Custom built software allowed colors and brushes to be selected via an integrated UI. And a bespoke workflow mapped animations and paint particles to each brushstroke, turning street art into performance art.
We built a classic Asian bike to spec, threw all our gear in the back and hit the Singapore streets in the dead of night. First, The National Gallery, where we operated in a super-stealth mode to avoid the F1 guards. Next, the National Stadium and the iconic, heritage protected, People’s Park Complex to create our trio of artworks. We wrapped things up in the early hours, cutting together a documentary of the evening’s activities.
Outcome
Social media exploded with a debate. Was it real or fake? Comments like ‘Arrest and Hang!’. It’s exactly the kind of thing we wanted. Truly expressing the Break Normal nature of the brand and provoking passionate debate around conformity and art in Singapore.
The project brought Singapore’s best street artists together with state’s most iconic buildings, reaching over 22% of all Singaporeans via social media. The campaign increased brand awareness in our target audience by a hefty 25%.
But this is just the beginning. In the name of creative freedom, we’ve made the art hack software available free so anyone in the community can express their creativity.