{"id":2345,"date":"2025-10-01T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=2345"},"modified":"2025-10-01T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T17:00:00","slug":"craig-karls-mateys-bring-vibrancy-and-joy-to-bridges-in-brisbane-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/?p=2345","title":{"rendered":"Craig & Karl\u2019s \u2018Mateys\u2019 Bring Vibrancy and Joy to Bridges in Brisbane and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Craig<\/p>\n

In vibrant colors, patterns, and shapes, the immersive works of Craig & Karl<\/a> invite us to relish moments of joy and surprise. While Craig is based in New York, and Karl is based in London, the two collaborate across the pond\u2014and around the world\u2014to produce multimedia installations that revitalize urban spaces and celebrate the power of play.<\/p>\n

As part of the 2025 Brisbane Festival<\/a>, Craig & Karl created a pair of large-scale inflatable interventions on two of the city\u2019s bridges, both riffing on the idea of the arch as passageway. Additionally, numerous illustrations, interactive sculptures, and inflatable \u201cMateys\u201d \u2014 a series of quirky characters with expressive faces \u2014 pop up on buildings and sidewalks to enable joyful encounters as part of the expansive, city-wide exhibition titled Rear Vision.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"colorful,
\u201cWalk This Way\u201d (2025), Kangaroo Point Bridge, Brisbane. Photo by JD Lin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Collectively <\/em>titled \u201cWalk This Way,\u201d the bridge installations encourage Brisbanites to see their city with fresh eyes. The expressive, flexible characters are also immanently relatable for viewers of all ages. \u201cThe Mateys serve as companions that help foster community and shared experiences, welcoming us into different corners of the city,\u201d says a festival statement.<\/p>\n

Craig & Karl are known for their vivid participatory projects, which range from mini-golf courses to playgrounds to murals. The artists initially met 30 years ago while studying at Griffith University in Brisbane, and since, their collaborative practice has included partnerships with global brands and publications like Adidas, Nike, Apple, Chanel, The New Yorker, Variety, <\/em>and more.<\/p>\n

While the bridge installations came to a close at the end of September, you can still stroll along the Public Art Trail<\/em> through October 20 to spot Craig & Karl\u2019s sculptures and installations in unexpected places. Then, drop by the exhibition Double Vision <\/em>at the Griffith University Art Museum, which continues through January 7.<\/p>\n

Plot your course on the Brisbane Festival website<\/a>, and see more of the artists\u2019 projects on their site<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a
\u201cMateys\u201d (2025), part of \u2018Rear Vision\u2019 Public Art Trail, Brisbane. Photo by Claudia Baxter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
\u201cMateys\u201d (2025), part of \u2018Rear Vision\u2019 Public Art Trail, Brisbane. Photo by Alex Chomicz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"the
Detail of \u201cConverge.\u201d Photo by Alex Chomicz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cConverge\u201d (2025), Neville Bonner Bridge, Brisbane. Photo by JD Lin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cPrismatic,\u201d Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cUnfold,\u201d Suzhou, China<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
\u201cCosmos,\u201d Melbourne Central, Melbourne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"a
Detail of \u201cCosmos\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member<\/a> today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Craig & Karl\u2019s \u2018Mateys\u2019 Bring Vibrancy and Joy to Bridges in Brisbane and Beyond<\/a> appeared first on Colossal<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In vibrant colors, patterns, and shapes, the immersive works of Craig & Karl invite us to relish moments of joy and surprise. While Craig is based in New York, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catbradley.io\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}