I made the pilgrimage to Bendigo on the weekend, to see the Marimekko exhibition. I've been wanting to go since it opened in March but the thought of spending 3-4 hours travelling there and back was not appealing...but then the thought of missing the show was even less appealing! And of course it was fab, and I even loved Bendigo so much I ended up walking around town for a few hours.
I've been thinking about colour and scale and form so much lately, particularly organic forms, so it was great timing for me to see how such an iconic brand has worked with these ideas over the last six-plus decades. It also struck me how progressive the work must have been in the '50s and '60s - while some of their patterns might seem a bit simple and plain now, they must have felt so bold and unique back then.
My favourite part of the exhibition was seeing original paintings and artwork, particularly some that had greylead outlines, and also noting how the paintings were adapted into patterns. Real is so much better than digital and imperfect is the best! Plus it's always good to see their screen printing production line in action (check out the videos if you go to the show) and read a bit more about how the brand has been revitalised in the last decade or so.
I haven't been to Bendigo in years and it was fun to be a tourist, walking around town and enjoying the sun and the green and the bats! And reading about the history of the place and how wealthy it was due to gold. Oh, and to run into a lot of Melbourne folk :) Here are some of the snaps I took.
And if you're thinking of heading to the show, make sure you get there before it closes on June 11.
