Morag Myerscough, Luke Morgan to build interactive superstructure at AfrikaBurn 2020

“The iLukuluku Temple of Curiosity aims to stimulate your curiosity and will offer an array of activities, interactions, performances and curious happenings,” says Myerscough. “The temple is a place of belonging. Creating spaces into places – it is bold and proud and will generate specific responses in each individual who experience the work, creating a community and building identity – ultimately creating belonging.”

A distinct approach to large scaffold structures

The artists Myerscough and Morgan are known around the world for their distinct approach to making large scaffold structures adorned with neon geometric patterns and shapes, often incorporating positive messaging hand-painted onto plywood. Their recent work includes the Movement Café London 2012and the Temple of Agape London 2014; Embrace the Unknown – Design Indaba 2018; Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Children’s Ward, Atoll, 1FA atrium, Broadgate London 2019; Make Happy Hong Kong, 2019; Mini ArtTables, London Design Fair; Eye See You, a play; Super Labyrinth, Cologne; Love At First Sight at Castlegate, Aberdeen; Siblings – a family of functional structures, including a pair of existing towering London Underground vent shafts and two substations; and a permanent public art commission for The Tide — London’s first-ever linear riverside park on Greenwich Peninsula.

Myerscough’s mantra is “make happy those who are near and those who are far will come.” Myerscough has always been fascinated by how words, colour, pattern and structures can change environments and people’s perceptions of spaces into places. Morgan is a non-conformist maverick inventor. His kinetic sculptures stem from a fascination with the way machines work and a deep love for rock ‘n roll music and devotee of ‘50s aesthetic.

Unleash your inner child

Rising from the blank canvas of the Tankwa Karoo, iLukuluku will present all at AfrikaBurn 2020 with an opportunity to unleash their inner child, and will reward curiosity with unique and spectacular surprises.

Standing at 15 metres tall, adorned with bold geometric patterns, iLukuluku takes its name from the isiXhosa for ‘curiosity’. Built on the premise that space can be transformed into a place of wild exploration through a multi-layered structure, iLukuluku aims to serve up a wide range of experiences – and many of those will be created by explorers themselves, who step up and answer the invitation of the artwork’s crew to make use of the space by creating their own happenings in, and around, the structure.

Created to host performances and designed with ritual in mind, this Temple of Curiosity is designed to compel participants to investigate its many layers and chambers – some of which are dead-ends and others lead to secrets and surprises.

In keeping with the AfrikaBurn ethos and instead of burning the structure, the Temple of Curiosity’s legacy will live on. Working with a local early childhood developmental agency, the entire section of the hand-painted plywood panels used to create the structure will be repurposed to develop an interactive ‘play space’ for young children where it gives children agency to imagine, collaborate and create their own sense of place and objects for play. Play facilitators guide children who are encouraged to create their own toys and playgrounds.