Intangible Goods

Installed from 26 March 2018 to 8 April 2018
A person uses a brightly colored vending machine outdoors.
A person holds a teal and white "Imagination" pouch labeled as creative energy fuel, in front of a colorful striped background.
Two people sit on a city street in front of a vending machine surrounded by pedestrians and tall buildings.
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You can get anything you want in our consumption-fuelled society, except the stuff we increasingly need: bravery, connection, calm, purpose. Until now!

Artists: Elizabeth Commandeur and Mark Starmach
This artwork was temporary and is no longer at this location.

Artwork description

Intangible Goods is an experimental line of conveniently-packaged consumables for the mind. Developed in collaboration with mental health professionals and presented by Art & About Sydney, each good is designed to momentarily satisfy a need higher up on Maslow’s hierarchy than, say, chocolate and crinkle-cut chips.

Passersby were able to make purchases from the Intangible Goods vending machine, when it was located in a number of sites across Sydney from 26 March to 8 April. All profits from the work were donated to beyondblue, the Mental Health Association NSW (WayAhead) and the Schizophrenia Research Institute at NeuRA.

To create Intangible Goods, artists Elizabeth Commandeur and Mark Starmach surveyed over 600 people to unwrap what Sydneysiders felt were missing in their lives.

Artists

Hailing from the high-octane world of advertising and marketing, Elizabeth Commandeur and Mark Starmach are a multi award-winning creative team currently based in Sydney.

This personal project marks their first venture beyond advertising, and has been informed by their shared experiences growing up in households affected by mental illness.

For this project, the artists worked alongside mental health professionals Barbara LeBas, Dr Tim Sharp, and Charlotte Stapf.

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