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If you have questions about CONTAINER we hope they are answered below.
If you need to know more please email us on info@containerplus.co.uk

If you would to collaborate or get involved please scroll down to OPPORTUNITIES.

Dear students:
Unfortunately we don't always have to time to answer long questionnaires,
but we will try and help when we can. We expect common courtesy in return.

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FAQ

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GENERAL INFO:

CONTAINER is a multidisciplinary art and design collective specialising in concept creation and execution
across a multitude of 2D and 3D platforms.

We combine diverse communication tools to form a 360 degree experience incorporating unique skill sets.
We offer an all round service that includes creative hand-rendered artwork, set design and photography
and illustration. We devote time to personal and experimental projects, enabling us to explore
techniques and develop new ideas, which then inform our commercial work.


HOW DID YOU START? WHO ARE THE FOUNDING MEMBERS?

Container was set up by Nicola Carter and Luise Vormittag in the Winter of 2002/2003. We had met
while studying at Camberwell University of the Arts, graduating in the Summer of 2002. We were
working separately at the time. Our work was quite distinct but we shared a sense of humour, a vision
of what we wanted to do and we both liked to boogie. Our first joint project was an exhibition at the
Notting Hill Arts Club, which got us nominated as one of Creative Review’s “Creative Futures 2003”.
We were very lucky and got to work on a broad range of projects over the next years, ranging from
editorial commissions, book covers, interior design, collaborating with fashion photographers,
drawings for online interactive animation, street art, product design, painting over a brand new
car, creating the identity for a new MTV show, etc.

2007 saw us getting increasingly interested in the third dimension: we started experimenting with set
design and installations and then photographing the results. We also started incorporating performative
elements in our exhibitions and began thinking of the possibility of creating a 360 degree experience with
our artwork, rather than just an image on a page. So in January 2008 we decided to join forces with
photographer Patricia Niven and an ever changing rosta of talented set designers.

Patricia worked with us for three and a half years, during the time of which we changed our name to
ContainerPLUS.With her we explored the possibilities of set design and creating narrative still life shoots.
June 2011 sees Patricia returning to concentrate on her own photographic practice.
Her work can be found HERE and HERE.

As the two core members - Nicola and Luise, we share a joint aesthetic sensibility, a love of peculiar
narratives, uncanny interiors, nonsense, wizardry and tea. We inspire each other with our enthusiasm
and guilt - trip each other into working harder.


HOW DO YOU WORK AS A TEAM?

The two of us have our distinct roles - we each have one creative role (eg Queen of Illustration) and
one or more administrative and operational roles (eg. Empress of Bookkeeping). We have biweekly
meetings for team updates and gossip. We bring eachother biscuits and go rollerskating. Every project
has one dedicated teamleader. We start every day with a tapdance-routine in our studio. (Ok, that is not
100% true..)

WHAT INFLUENCES YOU? HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE?

Many people liken our illustrative work to Aubrey Beardsley and Art Nouveau. Undoubtedly, both have
influenced our style, but it is not stuff we spend a lot of time looking at. Generally we aim to create
something that on first impression is beautiful and elegant, but upon closer inspection reveals a lot
of absurd detail, such as fat squirrels in bikinis, a dog dressed up as a devil, a man wearing a chicken
costume.

Our work is all hand-rendered and we like infusing our creations with the “charm” of imperfection.
We generally do this by creating an endless expanse of mess and then sticking it all back together,
either with actual glue or in Photoshop. We admire really neat and clean people, but we know we will
never be part of that world.

We usually start every project by having a long conversation mixing our ideas with the latest gossip,
looking at all sorts of magazines ranging from Art Monthly to Heat. Somewhere in that conversation,
in between our mediocre jokes, misunderstandings and a pile of magazines lies the seed of an idea.
Once the idea is born it develops almost independently, growing across the paper, the wall, the screen.
It becomes 3D and eventually takes on a life of its own, enslaving us in the process.



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OPPORTUNITIES

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INTERNS

We occasionally take on interns for specific projects.
We currently have enough potential interns on file and we are
currently not accepting any additional applications for internships.
Please check back in the future as this might change.

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COLLABORATIONS

We are always interested in hearing from practitioners in other fields who are interested in
collaborating with us - eg. fashion, film, theatre, designer-makers etc.
If you have a project you would like to propose to us please contact Luise.
luise@containerplus.co.uk