EMILE HOLBA

Here you will find behind the scenes snippets, vigenttes and occasional deep dive into my projects and commissions.


Elephant Magazine with The Constant Gardeners 



In May 2021, I embarked on a journey north to an unassuming yet large industrial estate in South Kirby, Yorkshire. This estate, situated between Wakefield and Doncaster, houses Production Park, an enormous facility that provides production infrastructure and services for the live events sector. Assigned by Elephant Magazine, I was tasked with photographing behind the scenes of an ambitious art project destined for the Tokyo Olympics’ Ueno Park this summer. The resulting images would accompany an article written by Ravi Ghosh.

Upon entering one of the site’s vast halls, I was greeted by four gleaming white ABB Robotics arms. These arms moved precisely yet gracefully across an expanse of fine grey gravel, fitted with arrow-tipped end effectors. Their harmonious movements were both unnerving and utterly beguiling, forming the foundation of Jason Bruges Studio’s latest technical and philosophical marvel, The Constant Gardeners.


Commissioned by the British Council for the Tokyo Olympics, ‘Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL’, The Constant Gardeners / コンスタントガーデナー is a pioneering installation that uses robots to reconstruct the art of a Japanese Zen Garden. By ingesting data collected from the Olympic athletes’ motions, The Constant Gardeners will reinterpret that data and draw a constantly flowing series of designs into the gravel of a Japanese garden.

Due to the complexity of the project and nearly four years of development, Jason Bruges Studio wanted to conduct the final trials and stress tests at full scale before shipping the installation to Japan.

This multi-week testing schedule required a larger space than their London Fields HQ, so Production Park provided the perfect secluded location. Ravi and I joined the team on the final day of the testing timetable, with shipping containers already docked outside, awaiting their sea-bound cargo.

Internationally renowned for creating cutting-edge hybrid interactive artwork, Jason Bruges Studio is known for producing large-scale installations that push the boundaries of what’s possible in public spaces. It was an exciting privilege to witness a glimpse into the inner workings of The Constant Gardeners.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Jason, Adam, Martin, Richard, and Beckie for making me feel so welcome on the day. I also want to thank Louise Benson at Elephant Magazine for the assignment and Sara and Sophie at Sutton Communications Agency for their assistance in liaising with Jason Bruges Studio.

Read Ravi’s story:
https://elephant.art/ghost-in-the-machine-jason-bruge-gears-up-for-the-tokyo-olympics-10062021

Discover:
https://www.jasonbruges.com

Go Tokyo!
https://ttf-koubo.jp/en/project/jason-bruges-studio/

ABB Robotics:
https://new.abb.com/products/robotics

Sutton:
https://suttoncomms.com

Production Park:
https://www.productionpark.co.uk

All photographs by Emile Holba.
All rights reserved.

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