The first design is about the love story between Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
The signatures of Robert and Elizabeth in red color with a green and white background are projected to the top part of the entrance foyer, signifying Italy, an important place in their lives. A knot is also projected under their names to signify the marriage. The main frontage of the entrance foyer is divided into 3 sections.
The left section shows the place they first met, 50 Wimpole Street, London. Lines from Poem 43 of “Sonnets from the Portuguese” written by Elizabeth, inspired by Robert are quoted. The magenta/pink color hints their young and passionate love. The right section shows the place they spent their 15 years of marriage together, Casa Guidi, Florence. It is also the place where Elizabeth died. Lines from Poem 51 “One Word More” of “Men and Women” written by Robert, a dedication to his wife, are quoted. The yellowish/orange color signifies their warm family life with their son Pen. The middle section shows Pen Browning’s house, Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice, where Robert died. Final lines of the first book from “The Ring and The Book”, arguably considered his greatest work, are quoted, which are a tribute to his wife. The blue color expresses his grief towards Elizabeth’s death.
The 3 sections are divided by 4 sets of pens. The number 4 signifies the 4 pregnancies Elizabeth had, and the pens signify their son Pen, while the 4 colors (Blue, Purple, Scarlet and Gold) used are references of Robert’s famous publication entitled “Bells and Pomegranates”, using the “the hem of the robe of the high priest” from bible to indicate “the mixture of music with discoursing, sound with sense, poetry with thought”.
Projections of Robert’s and Elizabeth’s portraits are also present on two sides of the entrance foyer, with an overlay of their love letters and a network pattern, symbolizing their close bond and deep love, as well as their loneliness before they met and after they lost each other.
- FACADE LIGHT PROJECTION -
The Contemporary 'Cabinets of Curiosities'
The exterior of the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum (ABLM) in Waco, Texas, which has the world’s largest collection of material relating to the Victorian-era poets Robert Browning (1812-1889) and his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861) does not reflect either its swish interiors, including its 62 stained glass windows, or the amazing Browning collection that it houses. Precise light projection technology (similar to that used at Melbourne’s White Night Festival), provides a simple and cost-effective solution to alter the appearance of the ABLM building. Unlike traditional facade renovation work, one advantage of this technique is that the building could then have multiple (temporary) identities.
Two different light projections for the front façade of the ABLM building are designed such that Dr. Armstrong's original ambitions for the museum to be a contemporary ‘cabinets of curiosities’ of the Brownings and their work can be revealed.
Projection Design 1
