Arcade / Facade

Inspired by a combination of previous works with text based signage and play with the word-form of ‘arcade’ Arcade/Facade mimics rooftop hotel signs and arcade facades. It features a set of changeable letter-forms, presented on a functional steel framework, that borrow the idea of cinema marquee signs and the famous changing phrases on the hotel sign in the Fawlty Towers titles.
The font used was inspired by text on the ‘Automatic Change Giver’ machine in an arcade in St Ives. The simple font style functional yet authoritative, with red chosen for it’s prevalence in the rooftop signage mentioned earlier as well as for it’s contrasts against the blue of the pool. Its location in the space both overlooks the rest of the exhibition while the backdrop of the fake rocks creates a filmic landscape quality.
Over the duration of the exhibition the letters on the sign were removed, changed, replaced  at irregular intervals, cycling through different words of 6 or 9 letters suffixed with ‘ade’. All familiar to the holiday experience the words used were arcade, facade, parade, promenade, motorcade and orangeade with the unused letters of each iteration piled below. The changing messages adding to the narrative of the rest of the exhibition while evoking ideas of change and transience.