Hidden in Plain View
10-25 October 2008
‘Hidden in Plain View’ (Design Event 08), 2008, installation view
Unlock a code, take time to decipher, discover a secret.
‘Hidden in Plain View’ is a project about what characterises people – and designers – from Northern Europe, about what connects us, differentiates us and makes us who we are.
21 high profile and emerging graphic designers from the UK, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway have contributed postcards as a visual response to the concept of home, whatever or wherever that may be.
‘Hidden in Plain View’ (Design Event 08), 2008, installation view
The idea behind ‘Hidden in Plain View’ comes from the tradition of steganography, the art and science of writing hidden messages, which has been traditionally popular on Scandinavian postcards. Generally, a steganographic message will appear to be something else: a picture, an article, a shopping list or some other message. This apparent message is the cover text and the real message may be held within illustrative symbols that at first glance seem innocuous.
Designers include: Catalogtree, Eivind Hartvig, Elisabeth Moch, Robert Holmkvist, Philip Dam Roadley-Battin, 75B, Thorbjørn Ankerstjerne, Hugo D’Alte, Colin Davies, Sue Doeksen, Amy Dover, El Roboto, Christina Foellmer, Emil Hartig, Scott King, Hörður Lárusson, Edward McGowan, Rick Myers, Katrin Olina Petursdottir, Pixelgarten, Ricky Wilson and This Is Make Believe.
‘Hidden in Plain View’ was conceived and curated by Danielle Pender and Beth Rowson as part of Design Event 08. Design Event is an annual festival in the North East providing the public with an opportunity to see cutting edge work by regional, national and international design talent.
Christina Foellmer, Untitled, 2008, archival inkjet print on board, 21x14.8cm