top of page

57 items found for ""

  • Macrocosm | Beautiful and Useful

    Macrocosm The work is inspired by a small-scale ocean environment enlarged to a mega scale. The inflatable works are derived from sea urchins, clownfish and nudibranchs, which are colourful sea-slugs found around Australia. These oversized forms cluster together to create a playful immersive experience for festival visitors to wonder through. About: The work is inspired by a small-scale ocean environment enlarged to a mega scale. The inflatable works are derived from sea urchins, clownfish and nudibranchs, which are colourful sea-slugs found around Australia. These oversized forms cluster together to create a playful immersive experience for festival visitors to wonder through. ​ History: Macrocosm was shown floating on barges at Darling Harbour, Sydney in Summer 2021. ​ Team: Creative Lead: Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg Consulting Engineer: Beta Engineering Manufactured by: The Beautiful and Useful Studio ​ Sustainability: Textiles made from recycled PET polyester. Manufactured using 100% renewable electricity (Solar). Internal bladders designed to be recovered and reused. All polyester waste re-recycled onshore by Sealy. ​ Restaging Opportunities: There is opportunity to restage this work. ​ ​ Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney We use 100% Renewable Electricity A member of the National Association of Visual Artists The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

  • Fire Safety

    Fire Safety Here is where you can access fire safety information for the project. I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. To update me, go to the Data Manager. The Data Manager is where you store data to use in your site pages, or collect data from site visitors when they submit a form. This collection in the Data Manager is already set up with some fields and content. To customize it with your own content, you can import a CSV file or simply edit the placeholder text. You can also add more fields which you can connect to other page elements so the content displays on your published site. Remember to sync the collection so your content is live! You can add as many new collections as you need to store or collect data. With Presets, we’ve handled the page set up for you, but you can create the exact same functionality in your other site pages. To connect page elements to data, the first step is to add a dataset to the page and choose the collection you want to use. From the dataset Settings panel, you can filter or sort the available items, decide how your users can interact with the page (read/write), and more. Next, select the element you want to connect to the data, and choose the field you want to connect it to. So simple! If you want to add even more capabilities, enable Developer Tools to use JavaScript and APIs to add custom interactions and functionality to your site. To see what’s possible and get answers to your questions, check out the Wix Code Forum. Previous Next

  • Project Details

    Project Details Here is where you can access all the important project details. I'm a paragraph. I'm connected to your collection through a dataset. To update me, go to the Data Manager. The Data Manager is where you store data to use in your site pages, or collect data from site visitors when they submit a form. This collection in the Data Manager is already set up with some fields and content. To customize it with your own content, you can import a CSV file or simply edit the placeholder text. You can also add more fields which you can connect to other page elements so the content displays on your published site. Remember to sync the collection so your content is live! You can add as many new collections as you need to store or collect data. With Presets, we’ve handled the page set up for you, but you can create the exact same functionality in your other site pages. To connect page elements to data, the first step is to add a dataset to the page and choose the collection you want to use. From the dataset Settings panel, you can filter or sort the available items, decide how your users can interact with the page (read/write), and more. Next, select the element you want to connect to the data, and choose the field you want to connect it to. So simple! If you want to add even more capabilities, enable Developer Tools to use JavaScript and APIs to add custom interactions and functionality to your site. To see what’s possible and get answers to your questions, check out the Wix Code Forum. Previous Next

  • Collaborations | The Beautiful and Useful Studio

    Projects & Collaborations The Beautiful and Useful Studio collaborates with Artists, Organisations, Festivals, Museums and Galleries to create artwork. ​ We focus on unique partners to share important stories. We have collaborated with the United Nations to start conversations around Anti-Microbial Resistance, the Cheeditha Art Group to share their First Nations culture around Australia, brought to life the paintings by Studio A's artists with intellectual disabilities, and playfully documented the evolution of LGBTQI+ rights in Australia for the Powerhouse Museum. We invite collaborators into our an inclusive, open creative process that uses a range of communication tools. We focus on small steps instead of giant leaps, we run an extensive prototyping phase, and we manage Work-In-Progress online journals that document projects with videos, photos and important documents. ​ Here are a selection of our favourite collaborations: ​ ​ ​ RED AIR public art / first nations / immersive OCEAN GARDEN public art / disabilities / immersive SALT WATER COUNTRY public art / first nations / permanent LAGOON public art / first nations / kinetic GOWINGS interior design / hotel / permanent MAPALI festival / community / first nations FABULOUS - Acts of Protest and Celebration museum / LGBTQI+ Say Hi Projects & Collaborations Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney. ​ We use 100% Renewable Electricity. ​ A member of the National Association of Visual Artists. The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

  • Key Dates

    Key Dates Here is where you can access the project key dates. Here is where you can access the project key dates. Previous Next

  • Contact | The Beautiful and Useful Studio

    Contact We are proudly based on Gadigal land, the City of Sydney. ​ Unit 2, 414 Botany Rd Beaconsfield NSW 2015 ​ Every collaboration starts with a conversation - say hi at: hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Say Hi Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney. ​ We use 100% Renewable Electricity. ​ A member of the National Association of Visual Artists. The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015 Subscribe to Our Mailing List Enter Your Email Join Thanks for subscribing!

  • Budget Information

    Budget Information Here is where information on the project budget information lives. Here is where information on the project budget information lives. Previous Next

  • Matthew Aberline Artist

    Matthew Aberline Artist A contemporary Australian Artist At the heart of Aberline's work is a desire to challenge ideas around identity, particularly in relation to the Anglo-Saxon and French histories of textiles and couture. His Queer point of view defines what is considered wearable and by incorporating it into their art, Aberline pushes the boundaries of what is traditionally accepted as art and fashion. Through their work, they encourage viewers to question their preconceptions around clothing and cultural identity, and to consider the ways in which these concepts are intertwined. ​ One of Aberline's most notable contributions to the art world is their use of installation art to create immersive, interactive experiences for viewers. By creating environments that incorporate clothing and sculptural textiles, Aberline blurs the lines between the gallery and the world outside, challenging viewers to consider the ways in which identity, fashion and art intersect. Through their use of performative elements, also invites viewers to become active participants in their work, encouraging them to consider their own relationship with clothing and identity. ​ ​

  • About Us | Beautiful and Useful

    About Us About Us The Beautiful and Useful Studio is based in Sydney and we work around the world. ​ Our priorities are our democratic and inclusive approach to art making, and collaborating with unique partners to help tell important stories. ​ We love human made objects, and deliberately embody 'the touch of the artist's hand' into everything we create. ​ We are passionate about Diverse Stories: First Nations, LGBTQI+, Art for Children, and Sustainability. ​ We are very serious about fun. Led by artist Matthew Aberline, we are known for our extravagant use of colour and print in our art textiles, which we transform into sculpture. ​ Collaboration is at the heart of the studio, we love sharing our incredible skills base with diverse communities to help them share their stories in new and powerful ways. ​ We manufacture everything we create ourselves. Say Hi Matthew Aberline Creative Lead / Artist Nicholette Pottier Studio Christina Chan Studio Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney. ​ We use 100% Renewable Electricity. A member of the National Association of Visual Artists. The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

  • Ocean Blue | Beautiful and Useful

    Ocean Blue Like a giant picture book, Ocean Blue creates an immersive journey targeted at young children and their families - telling the story of how Forests, Rivers and Oceans are all connected. ​ With art work tailored to the 4 - 7 yr old demographic, the work has delightful images of cheeky crabs, grumpy seagulls, and hidden octopuses to be discovered by young viewers. ​ The environmental message is also embedded into the work: 95% made from recycled PET, and created in a studio that uses 100% renewable electricity. It opens positive conversations of change, hope and sustainability for young people. Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney We use 100% Renewable Electricity A member of the National Association of Visual Artists The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015 About: Just like a giant picture book - the work is heavily illustrated with a narrative of how Forests, Rivers and Oceans are all connected. Much of the detail is physically quite low in the work - targeted specifically at very young people to discover. By day the inflatable art work is brightly patterned and detailed with a deliberate 'done by hand' feel, by night it becomes an illuminated landscape with internal led lighting ​ History: Premiere at the Rockhampton River Festival. ​ ​ Team: Creative Lead: Matthew Aberline Consulting Engineer: Beta Engineering Manufactured by: The Beautiful and Useful Studio ​ Sustainability: Textiles made from recycled PET polyester. Manufactured using 100% renewable electricity (Solar). All polyester waste re-recycled onshore by Sealy. ​ Restaging: There is opportunity to restage the existing work, or to redevelop the artwork (ie the textile art) using the existing staging system. There is the opportunity to incorporate a new collaborating artist.

  • Live for Love | Beautiful and Useful

    Live for Love Live for Love Live for Love is a series of large scale inflatable art works that celebrate the evolution of LGBTQI+ Human Rights in Australia. Originally premiering for the City of Sydney in 2018, the work quickly received international attention and was featured at the World Trade Centre Oculus in New York for World Pride and seen by over a million visitors. A new iteration of the work, called 'FABULOUS - Acts of Protest and Celebration' is showing at the Powerhouse Museum throughout 2023. ​ About: This series of works explores the evolution of LGBTQI+ Human Rights in Australia. Using fun and play, the work has immediate appeal to mass viewers, but subtly discusses the treatment of homosexuals in WW2, the AIDS crisis and gay activism, the First Nations queer experience, and diverse gender visibility. ​ History: Originally commissioned by The City of Sydney to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sydney Mardi Gras under the title '40 Years Of Love', the work was a three storey inflatable / truss pavilion erected continuously for almost 9 weeks at the iconic Oxford St in Sydney. Quickly garnering international attention, the work was redeveloped when it was invited to show at the World Trade Centre Oculus for Silver Stein Properties and World Pride / NYC Pride in 2019 to over million a viewers. The work was adopted by the (successful) Sydney World Pride bid as a 'three storey conversation starter' and was also shown in the Australian High Commission 'Australia House' in London, The Copenhagen Cathedral in Denmark, and Ireland. The work was shown at the Sydney World Pride Human Rights Conference to 1500 delegates from around the world, including from the United Nations. ​ The most recent iteration of the work, 'Fabulous - Acts of Protest and Celebration' was commissioned by the Powerhouse Museum and will be shown there throughout 2023. Team: Creative Leads: Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg First Nations Collaborator: Lawrence Shearer Consulting Engineer: Beta Engineering Manufactured by: The Beautiful and Useful Studio ​ Engineering: All outdoor components designed for all weather conditions to 60kmph. ​ Sustainability: Textiles made from recycled PET polyester. Manufactured using 100% renewable electricity (Solar). All polyester waste re-recycled onshore by Sealy. Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney We use 100% Renewable Electricity A member of the National Association of Visual Artists The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

  • Gowings | Beautiful and Useful

    Gowings A permanent lantern installation at the QT Hotels Gowings Restaurant in Sydney. A contemporary reworking of Classic Masters floral still lives, collided with hand applied gold leaf, graffiti and photo montage. About: The commission involved working the QT design team to create a series of gorgeous original textile designs for an overhead lantern installation in their Gowings Restaurant. These textile designs were also used in soft furnishing and wardrobe accessories. ​ Team: Creative Leads: Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg, commissioned by interior designer Nic Graham Manufactured by: The Beautiful and Useful Studio ​ History: Originally, Gowings was an 1800s drapery and millinery department store. The artwork draws its inspiration form flowing skirt forms, a series of suspended crinolines. ​ Sustainability: Textile art printed on recycled PET polyester. Manufactured using 100% renewable electricity (Solar). All polyester waste re-recycled onshore by Sealy. ​ Restaging Opportunities: There is opportunity to redevelop this work using, and expanding upon the existing construction techniques. Proudly based on Gadigal Land, the beautiful City of Sydney We use 100% Renewable Electricity A member of the National Association of Visual Artists The Beautiful and Useful Studio hello@itsbeautifulanduseful.com Unit 2 / 414 Botany Rd, Beaconsfield NSW 2015

bottom of page