A glowing giant, well wrapped up and wearing little glasses, hangs from the roof of the Genève-Cornavin station. With one hand he's helping another giant climb up the station wall. Somewhere else in the Swiss city we bump into them again: they're playing on the pillars of St. Pierre Cathedral. And there they are too, doing somersaults in Place de la Madeleine. And who are these mischievous Eskimos? They're the Anooki, who came to Geneva to liven up the sixth edition of Geneva Lux.
The Swiss city's Department of the Environment and Urban Security is behind a new edition of the Festival of Lights, held for the first time at the end of January. Because the long winter night is the best possible stage for experiencing the magic of light, and this 2020 it was carried by 26 artworks, 11 of them new creations. Among them, the Anooki, the rowdiest guests of this edition.
On 24 January, amid great expectation, the Anooki lit up in Geneva for the first time. In as many as five spots around the city we could watch the games of these two little giants, who turned some of the city's most famous landmarks into their playground. Besides the places already mentioned, the Eskimos also played on the Promenade de l'Observatoire and on the arch of Rue Henri-Fazy. Quite a show for young and old that ended up being one of the most celebrated artistic works of this latest edition of Geneva Lux 2020.
But where do the Anooki come from? He comes from the North Pole and she from the South Pole. Their respective homes are melting, so they decided to carry on with their adventures around the rest of the world. They've been spotted in Singapore, in Osaka, in Dubai and in Lyon. Their stay in Geneva, of course, won't be the last stop. Where will we see them next? Hanging from the Eiffel Tower, perhaps? Clinging to the Empire State Building like King Kong? Or climbing the Sagrada Familia? You never know with the Anooki…
It was back in 2000 when designers Moetu Battle and David Passegand founded their studio Inook, where the world's most mischievous Eskimos were born. The idea came up as a marketing strategy, but also as an environmental message: the Anooki would be two Inuit left homeless by global warming. They would travel the world spreading their warning: this world is too beautiful to let it be spoiled.
They started out as the design studio's digital mascots, with short humorous pieces created by the designers themselves. Downloads were growing exponentially while the Anooki asked for more adventures. That's how Moetu and David built a whole universe of their own for their Eskimos. First it was Facebook that took an interest in the Anooki, who appeared on the popular social network as animated stickers. Then they landed on Euronews to explain the news in an easy and entertaining way. And after that France Televisions reached an agreement with Inook to broadcast the Anooki television series.
But the planet's most endearing Inuit were feeling a bit flat in their two-dimensional universe. It was time to come to life beyond the digital world. The 6-metre inflatable sculptures, often glowing like the ones in Geneva, began travelling the world, transforming spaces and offering a new perspective on architecture and urban spaces. And let's not forget that, behind their games and their jokes, there's a message that runs deep: if we don't look after the planet, we'll all end up homeless, like them, like the Anooki.
The Anooki were built and engineered by Àrea Cúbica and installed with the help of the assembly team from Dalia Dome.
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