Mediale, Island in a River

Island in a River is a major permanent exhibition by artist Matthew Rosier and Mediale for the newly refurbished Grade II listed 18th Century Yarm Town Hall Heritage Centre in Stockton on Tees. Celebrating Yarm’s ancient connection to the River Tees and location on the horseshoe bend of the river, the exhibition features a collection of significant historic local artefacts interpreted by ten films, created by the artist in close collaboration with around 100 local residents, including a number of community groups.

We worked with the artist and the commissioning partners to create a flexible identity comprised of a ‘river mark’ and a ‘word mark’ which could be interchangeably used alongside moving image, photography or text depending on the application. The river mark is a simplified representation of Yarm’s position on the Tees, an immediately recognisable symbol to local residents and a more abstract visual motif to wider audiences which can be used to subdivide or connect physical and digital spaces. Accompanying typography was designed to be legible from a viewing distance around the installation and nods to the rich historical and contemporary stories which inspired the final artworks.

Key deliverables included large format graphic panels, cut vinyl window graphics, video titles, social media template assets, printed interpretation booklets, an exhibition poster and campaign images.