MONA FOMA’s hub at Inveresk hosted the first airing of BLOMA last weekend [17 to 19 January]. The inflatable-enclosed communication device stood boldly for the majority of the festival, and generated much interest. In so doing, it joined an informal tradition of inflatable structures at MOFO headlined by Architects of Air’s “Luminarium Daedalum” (2020) and Amanda Parer’s “Man” (2019).
BLOMA is a product of interdisciplinary collaboration between Architecture & Design’s Dr Andrew Steen and I.C.T.’s Dr Ananda Maiti, and cooperation between the University and MONA FOMA. The inflatable structure was designed and fabricated by a small group of A&D students in a Live Build, Learning–By–Making elective, led by Dr Steen, Peter Booth and Robin Green. It is a follow-up to MONA FOMA SOMA, a venue used extensively during MOFO 2020 by artist Amanda Palmer.
Dr Steen plans to animate BLOMA at other events and in other communities this year. He hopes BLOMA will be the first of a series of inflatable structures produced by A&D, and plans to continue the project to produce other mobile architectural works aimed at sharing sound and messages, and spreading culture into the future.
