With his degree in political science from Paris under his belt, Aurélien Farina decided to pursue his studies as an artist at the University of Applied Science – Art & Design in Geneva (HEAD, HES-SO). Today, this young French graphic artist of 27, winner of the poster competition organised by Paléo and his art school, unveils the fruit of his work, a formidable visual design, both intelligent and resolutely graphic in conception.
Behind the tangle that meets the eye at first, the poster for the 37th edition of the Festival actually reveals a very orderly composition, organised according to a very precise set of rules. Colours, angles and forms: each element follows its own path and combines with others at different levels. The result is an exclusively typographical poster: “I have always been interested in the idea of creating images with typo, and vice versa. In creating this poster I wanted the effect to be geometric and systematic, and the solution came fairly naturally by playing around with pencils and a sheet of squared paper », says Aurélien. « As for the colours, I didn’t really have much choice in the end. In order for it to work, I was confronted by a number of constraints similar to those that you meet when you’re drawing a map, plans or road signs: the need to easily recognise different levels of information. Either fortuitously or unconsciously, I came up with something that looks a bit like a map of the Tube.”
“I like conceiving complex, intriguing and playful projects, ones that rely on the intelligence of the public. It’s a sort of game of ping-pong between the eye and the mind and this dimension is very important to me: the poster is conceived in its relationship with the viewer, and invites those who look at it to participate.”
Music is at the heart of his inspiration, and is an essential component for Aurélien Farina. “Music is the basis of my work. To get tangled up, to move through different levels, to be organised, in harmony, this is all about music. Each layer of the poster could be seen as a musical component, a frequency or an instrument. The "Paléo" red rounds it all off, it’s a bit like the melody”.
The winner of this year’s competition to create the 2011 Paléo Festival Nyon poster, organised jointly by Paléo and the University of Applied Science of Western Switzerland (HES-SO), is Kyoungmi KIM, a young graphic artist and third-year student at the Geneva High School for Art and Design (HEAD).
