Visual Citizens
Capturing a bright and vivid world, Rotterdam-based duo Visual Citizens create utopic art to inspire the senses.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
Plant Based Dinner by Visual Citizens.
‘We both have very different ways of thinking about design; Adam is often more rational, whereas I’m more intuitive. We try to bring both these approaches to all our projects,’ says Shali Kelly.
Coming together with architecture backgrounds, Visual Citizens was founded by Shali and Adam Kelly in 2018 in Cape Town. With Shali from South Africa and Adam from Scotland, the two actually met in Barcelona, working in an architecture firm where the initial concept for a digital studio focused on future spaces came together.
The duo moved to Rotterdam to understand more Dutch and Scandinavian design techniques, but when Shali I was diagnosed with a long-term illness, she was forced to stay at home in bed for weeks. With a major lifestyle change, she turned to design rendering, opening a world of opportunities.
Their dreamy and surreal spaces bring together architecture, furniture design, and landscapes in whimsical colours and luxury textures like marble and glistening water scenes. ‘What we love about renders is that it can make the imaginary feel real,’ Shali explains. ‘The possibilities for design are endless, and we see a future where the boundary between the digital and physical are blurred.’
Alongside Modernist designers like Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Eero Saarinen, Adolf Loos, and Louis Kahn, Visual Citizens are constantly finding new creativity in nature — apt for the flower-filled Netherlands. Guiding the viewer on a plant-based safari, they inspire us to consider the environment and how it changes throughout the seasons.
‘Recently, we have been particularly inspired by gardens and how they can be designed in a particular way to create certain experiences of nature,’ says Shali. ‘We are fascinated by this relationship between nature and design, so we love to work with digital images to create surreal natural environments, to try and capture an atmosphere we may have experienced somewhere in the wilderness.’
Let's Take a Drive by Visual Citizens.
Weightless Mind, a collaboration with music producer Rez by Visual Citizens.
“As designers, we have set ourselves the challenge of translating our love of nature into a digital world and flowers, as very emotive objects, are a particularly rich medium to express ideas and convey our thoughts.”
Flora Swing, NFT collected by Creator Collection by Visual Citizens.
Dining With Blooms, NFT collected by Emir Kaya in the Kaya Collection by Visual Citizens.
With a diverse mix of clients like Bliss Flower Boutique, music producer Rez, Elle Decoration NL, and furniture designer Geke Lensink at Milan Design Week, each project starts with the two bringing their own design philosophies together. ‘At the start of a project, we always like to work simultaneously so that we can share ideas together, and each image is truly a collaboration of work by both of us,’ Shali reveals.
Shali admits to being more intuitive and Adam more rational; however, the glistening worlds of Visual Citizen remains united throughout each concept. First, they’ll seek out an aesthetic for each realm, adding inspiration from images, paintings, books, or films or perhaps an experience in nature.
‘From there, we do some initial sketches and then move into 3D software,’ Shali adds. ‘We develop the idea through lots of test renders until we feel comfortable that the final image captures the atmosphere we wanted to create.’
In a world of covid and lockdowns, these escapist places feel more present than ever as we seek out a belonging outside of usual. Funnily enough, covid has actually brought Visual Citizens more global clients as the internet world gets smaller.
‘Everyone is now so used to working digitally that it feels like the world is primed for more immersive digital experiences,’ Shali reflects. ‘In an era in which the physical realm is expanding ever further into digital worlds, we are always searching for exciting, redefining projects.’
The future looks bright for Visual Citizens with several NFTs under their belt and an exciting new project unfolding in the VR world — bringing a little bit of that surrealist magic right into our homes!