After a dazzling spectacular at Glastonbury this summer, Pip Rush, the co-creator of festival installation Arcadia, speaks to Emma McAlpine about his baby spider...
Arcadia. Nothing can ever prepare you for the visual feast that is the gargantuan spider shaped out of twisted scrap metal. Breathing fire, shooting out laser beams and harnessing four million volts of raw electricity through two seemingly superhuman men known only as The Lords of Lightening; it also comes with a revolving stage and an earth-shattering 50KW Funktion One Sound System. This is the ultimate performance space and the DJ booth of dreams.
Created in 2007 by sculptor Pip Rush and engineer Bert Coles, Arcadia supplies festivals with Mad Max-inspired installations that fuse art, music, circus, special effects and cutting-edge technology into one mind-blowing, multi-sensory experience. The pair spend weeks trawling scrap yards and commandeering forklift trucks to haul disused metal – anything from military helicopter fuselages to space satellite fuel pods and turbine blades – around British and Irish fields. Ahead of their installations at Electric Picnic and Bestival this September, I spoke to Pip Rush about Arcadia’s inception, the work that goes into a festival performance and their plans for Burning Man 2012...
What did the pair of you do before you became involved in Arcadia?
I was influenced by spending time with Mutoid Waste as a child and have always built sculptures out of scrap. I spent a few years making animated fire sculptures at festivals before I met Bertie and started sculpting large-scale concert structures.
Bert is an incredible engineer and used to work as a tent master erecting some of the largest tents in the world.
How did you both meet?
Our parents knew each other. But we properly met at a Spanish festival where Bert was putting up huge tents for a rave in the desert, and I was travelling with a bunch of artists and some homemade installations. We all had a right laugh and the friendships and ideas all grew from there.
What inspired you to create Arcadia? Did you spot something missing from the UK party scene?
We did a gig at another festival the following year, and had a rant in the early hours about how linear stages were and what a divide there was from the audience and the performers. We also realised how many creative people were on the festival circuit and were looking for someone to collaborate their ideas with. Nothing was missing; it just needed something to gravitate towards.
When do you start work on a show like Glastonbury? How long does it take to set up?
We're always ticking away with ideas and looking in to possibilities. I think I was actually onsite for seven weeks this year.
How many people make up the Arcadia team?
Hundreds! And then thousands to make the party.
What is a normal day in the office for you?
Ha. I don’t know how normal it is. Sometimes rummaging through scrap yards, sometimes battling with health and safety documents, sometimes swinging from a fork lift with a welder- it’s pretty varied but we try and keep hands-on as much as we can and have some great people helping us with the office work.
Do you design a different spider for each festival and is there a spider graveyard somewhere?
No, we try and reuse everything somehow or another, and we always expand on what we have. Our yard is getting very full!
How much gas do you burn through in one show?
Er...that’s an embarrassing question, we are looking in to burning methane, and then we will boast about it!
How did you come across the Lords of Lightening and how do they avoid getting fried to death?
We collaborated with a guy called Carlos from New Zealand last year. He’s a wizard with tezla coils and designed these chainmail suits, which divert all the electricity around the performer and down to earth.
Do you have many accidents putting Arcadia up and testing it before a show?
No, thankfully nothing serious. We put a huge amount of energy in to making everything as safe as possible. Circus does have a huge element of danger in it, and I think that personal responsibility for your life is something performers thrive on and the audience love.
Have you thought of any ideas that are just too dangerous or impossible to pull off yet?
Yeah, we got stumped on a few things this year for the first time, but we will find a way to do them for the next show.
Orbital Live at Glastonbury 2011
Arcadia seems perfectly suited to Burning Man Festival. Have you any plans to take it out there?
We're going to have a look this year… anyone out there want to help us get the kit out in 2012 to show them what the UK is made of?!
What has been your favourite Arcadia memory over the years?
It was Glastonbury on Sunday night last year, something clicked and it really kicked off with an amazing crowd. All the performers felt it and gave it 110 percent!
Have you any thoughts on the performers for Glasto 2013 yet? We've heard Daft Punk are available....
We’ve got the luxury of a year off to think about it. A lot of new material can be churned up in that time, so we are pretty open.
You get to live a lot of men's primordial fantasies: playing with fire, electricity and metal all day. What do you do both do to stay in touch with your feminine side?
Er… might get a dog?!
What do you think are the core ingredients for an unforgettable party experience?
Good people getting motivated and wanting to celebrate - that’s it.
For any big kids wanting to try this at home - do you have any tips for building a mini scale spider?!
Yeah, learning to weld is a really good tool. Then finding a good scrap yard and having a play. Then all you need is a farmer who’s up for the party and you’re away!
Arcadia will be at Electric Picnic from 2nd-4th September and Bestival from 8th-11th September 2011.
Photo credit: Charlie Raven
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