GUCCI GARDEN ARCHETYPES EXHIBITION OPENS IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

Text and images courtesy of Gucci

Gucci Garden Archetypes Sydney : 17th November 2022 – 15th January 2023

The immersive, multimedia exhibition Gucci Garden Archetypes first held in Florence, has arrived in Sydney, Australia at the Powerhouse Ultimo. The exhibition recreates Gucci’s most seminal and conceptually adventurous advertising campaigns envisioned by Alessandro Michele. Sydney will be the 7th stop globally for this travelling wonderland following Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul.

Gucci Garden Archetypes Sydney at The Powerhouse Ultimo, Sydney
17th November 2022 – 15th January 2023
10am to 5pm daily Fridays to Wednesdays
10am to 9pm on Thursdays Free admission
#GucciGarden

An archetype is the original form from which all copies are made, never to be recreated again, and every Gucci campaign speaks of a unique and unrepeatable moment – expressing the spirit of each collection, while reflecting the inclusive, liberated and audacious philosophy of Creative Director Alessandro Michele.

Gucci Garden Archetypes delves into the multifarious inspirations from the music, art, travel and pop culture spheres that resonate through Gucci’s campaigns.

Presented by Som Santoso

“I thought it was interesting to accompany people in these almost eight years of adventure, inviting them to cross the imaginary, the narrative, the unexpected, the glitter. So, I created a playground of emotions that are the same as in the campaigns, because they are the most explicit journey into my imagery, “ says Alessandro Michele, curator of the exhibition.

Cutting-edge technology, elaborate hand-crafting and innovative interior design create a sequence of distinct, immersive worlds, designed by Archivio Personale, the design studio that has transformed Alessandro Michele’s vision into narrative spaces reflecting and enhancing the uniqueness of his creative vision. Accessed via what appears to be a behind-the-scenes operations center, visitors experience a split-screen live view of the exhibition they are about to enter. Inside, a network of themed spaces and corridors bring the intricate world-building of Gucci campaigns to life.

“The Powerhouse is thrilled to be exhibiting Gucci Garden Archetypes in Sydney, Australia. Gucci’s extraordinary Creative Director Alessandro Michele draws on fashion’s affinities with art and music to create an exhibition that will take audiences on an immersive journey through past inspirations of the internationally renowned luxury fashion house’s most iconic campaigns” says Lisa Havilah, Powerhouse Chief Executive.

Viewers also enter the scented floral paradise of Gucci Bloom, a hidden imaginary garden becomes a place of freedom for the three stars of the campaign – actress Dakota Johnson, artist and photographer Petra Collins, and actress, model Hari Nef. Charismatic and unconventional, this trio collectively ushered in Alessandro Michele’s new, inclusive vision of modern femininity. Pre-Fall 2018’s homage to the Parisian youth of ‘May 68’ on the 50th anniversary is evoked by graffiti walls.

The Beloved Show campaign is recreated, showing the set where Hollywood A-listers joked around in front of a skyline with the late-night host while proudly showing off their handbags, the four Gucci Beloved lines – the Dionysus, Horsebit 1955 and the timeless Jackie 1961. These are bags that tell their own story.

The obsessive collections of the Fall Winter 2018 campaign fill the space from floor to ceiling, as visitors become immersed by shelves stacked with hundreds of cuckoo clocks, ceramics and Marmont handbags. Guests can also find themselves in the 80s nightclub bathroom of the Berlin-set Spring Summer 2016 campaign.

Visitors can even enter a mirrored labyrinth to go inside a stately home like the one at the heart of the Cruise 2016 campaign, and ride on an LA subway carriage like the one that made an appearance back in the Fall Winter 2015 campaign, Alessandro Michele’s first campaign.

The Gucci Garden Archetypes catalogue will be the continuation of this journey into the imagination of Alessandro Michele – a true inventory of the creativity on display and a collection of images and surprises, complemented by original prose by personalities of the cultural scene including art critic Achille Bonito Oliva, philosopher Emanuele Coccia, artist and researcher Anna Franceschini, curator Antwaun Sargent, and sustainability and culture advisor Shaway Yeh.

The Gucci Garden Archetypes exhibition will be open to public from 17 November 2022 to 15 January 2023 at the Powerhouse Ultimo, Sydney. Tickets are available for booking at www.gucci.com.