Last weekend, Mad Science opened its doors. And! There were not one, or two, but THREE DeLorean DMC-12s present to welcome the public. The highly anticipated show was an exploration of how art, science and the future can come together to solve some of the world’s biggest problems.
But before we get into details, we’ll let our very own (talented!) Nick Stokes, otherwise known as ‘Knack’, do the talking:
WHAT IS MAD SCIENCE?
Mad Science is an art show put on by employees of both Wieden + Kennedy and Nike. The idea is that seven scientists (featured artists) from the present are transported to the year 2045 to find solutions for modern day issues. Some of the issues addressed include environmental problems like animal extinction, green energy and the planet’s changing ecosystems. Others looked toward the future through a different lens, predicting what the future of fashion might look like and how it could include the rarity of plants.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
Justin Morris, one of the show’s curators, and I had talked about me joining the project when I interviewed for the 12 program. He had seen my work before via Instagram.
WHAT DID YOUR PIECE EXPLORE?
My piece explores the idea of human generated energy through the fake corporate identity of PROMETHEUS Technologies. The concept revolves around two of PROMETHEUS Technologies’ newest breakthroughs: The PROMETHEUS Suit MRK-X and the PROMETHEUS Power Cloud. The concept behind the suit is that it collects one’s body heat and kinetic energy and turns it into usable energy. That energy is then sent from the suit up to the wearer’s PROMETHEUS Power Cloud. In the cloud, the wearer’s energy is amplified and stored, where it can be later used as an on demand wireless power source for all of the wearer’s devices (the animation describes it best).
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE NAME PROMETHEUS?
In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the sky and gave it to humans. I thought it was a fitting analogy for the project.
WHAT'S YOUR PROCESS LIKE?
It was a LOT of work. Thankfully I have AMAZING friends who joined the project and helped me fully realize the concept.
Essentially the project consisted of three parts: the animation, the suit and six posters.
From the beginning, the purpose of the animation was to show how the suit works in a very simple and descriptive way. Fellow 12’er Eric Swanson was an absolute mad man and helped me knock out the animation in less than a week. I can’t even begin to thank him enough.
The suit was all my good friend JJ Goodrich. She made the entire thing from scratch. She made the onsie, found the glowing EL wire and figured out a way to sew it all together and make something amazing.
The posters were the easy part for me. It was the only non-variable in the whole project. The idea behind the posters was to make some cool imagery about the suit, but to also provide examples of how the suit could work in daily life. On the left side of the mannequin were three posters showing how the wearer could use the suit in daily life. On the right side the three posters show how a community could pool their combined energy for the greater good.
Mad Science is NOW SHOWING at Gallery 135. Be sure to catch Nick’s rad Tron-like suit!
