Experimental Jetset - Superstructure

BACKGROUND: Watson, together with Kate Rhodes and Brad Haylock (RMIT), and Megan Patty (NGV), curated 'Experimental Jetset - Superstructure', the first major retrospective of the work of globally renowned graphic design studio Experimental Jetset. CONTRIBUTION: For this exhibition, Experimental Jetset identified key sub-cultural movements that have inspired their practice. Across these moments in time, the relationship between graphics and the city was explored through a site-specific installation of existing and newly created works including film, collage, posters, prints and illustrations. In addition, a sequence of newspapers was published in collaboration with nine Melbourne-based graphic designers to connect with the local context. This work demonstrates Watson's ongoing investigation into new ways of presenting and mediating architectural and design practices within the local context. She presents the curatorial program as a 'social medium that is not just about the presentation of research, but about its contextualisation and mediation' (Rhodes and Watson, Cusp-Design, October 2014). SIGNIFICANCE: The exhibition took place at the peer-reviewed venue Design Hub: a progressive educational environment that houses a community of architects, designers, curators and students for collaborative, inter-disciplinary design research and education. 'Experimental Jetset - Superstructure' was featured in Architecture AU, Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review, Creative Review, Assemble Papers, Broadsheet, and Green Magazine, and was discussed during an ABC Radio National interview with founding designers from Experimental Jetset. The exhibition aligned with the opening of Melbourne Design Week - an initiative developed and supported by Creative Victoria and the NGV, and was featured within the events program.