Together Forever is the new artwork by Eness specially conceived for the “Pop Air” exhibition at the Balloon Museum.
This large inflatable installation centers mainly around the concept of social bonding and the importance of people coming together.
The composition of Together Forever features twenty characters arranged one on top of the other – in close contact – in a messy, happy cluster that coexists in perfect harmony. This lively, joyous cluster is actually a carefully designed structure, a soft pyramid resembling a mold of jelly.
Visitors are encouraged to interact with the work: tickling the feet of the different characters brings them to life, activating different sensory experiences. The installation’s sound accompaniment recalls an organic soundscape, which evolves and intensifies in a fascinating succession of sounds such as human heartbeats, breaths and liquid bubbles. In addition, scents are released that evoke memories of childhood and sharing, such as the smell of popcorn, chewing gum, freshly cut grass and freshly baked bread.
When the visitors stop interacting, the work remains inactive for a few moments: the characters become confused, the lights become intense, and the sound turns into constant rumble. This change is meant to represent the isolation and subsequent breakdown of social ties caused by the impact that culture and the digital world has on humans.

Biography

Founded in 1997, ENESS is a multidisciplinary team of creatives including artists, musicians, software engineers, industrial designers, thinkers and a writer. ENESS pioneered the art of 3D projection mapping and interactive real-time motion tracking, breaking new ground and creating firsts that have since become accepted design solutions. The studio has been commissioned to produce and install artworks worldwide for signature commercial buildings; urban and cultural precincts; festivals, galleries and museums of modern art.
ENESS studio creates both permanent and temporary public artworks: inspirational installations that forge greater community connection in the public realm. Temporary public artworks such as Cupid’s Koi Garden offer the opportunity to dynamically change public space through fresh architectural interventions by transforming existing spaces from mainstream and expected to become synonymous with what’s new and ground-breaking. By delivering astounding aesthetic experiences in unexpected ways, ENESS instantly and forever changes visitor perceptions about the place.
Temporary artworks are deployed and installed in response to social issues such as the pandemic – a simple, joyful way of re-enlivening space to inspire community. ENESS artworks are also geared towards cross-generational connection through clever combinations of whimsical imagery and humanized technology that is programmed to inspire interaction. Cupid is the latest and most technically complex in a series of beautiful, temporary artworks that offer surprising combinations of technology and soft materiality – outcomes that are alive to the moment and although gone tomorrow, stay in the hearts and minds of our audiences.
With Cupid’s Koi Garden, artist and founder Nimrod Weis was able to translate the idea of formal civic fountains into an interactive, temporary experience that distilled the very essence of Melbourne in January – providing a cool oasis in the midst of a scorching local summer – a place of water-play, flourish and respite that lifted spirits flattened by the previous year of endless lockdowns; ushering in the new year with motifs of renewal, change and innovation.