Art as interaction: a Q&A with Craig & Karl

International art and design duo Craig Redman and Karl Maier first collaborated after meeting as students at Brisbane’s Queensland College of Art and Design, Griffith University.

“Good public art gives a city or community a sense of identity. It becomes a visual landmark that can serve many roles: a meeting point, a source of pride, a marker in the landscape.”

Now based internationally - with Craig in New York and Karl in London – they have returned to the place it all began for this year’s Brisbane Festival.

Brisbane has become a stage for the duo as they transform the city’s walking bridges with major immersive art installations entitled ‘ANZ’s Walk This Way’. These include the Neville Bonner Bridge, the Goodwill Bridge, and the new Kangaroo Point Bridge.

{image}

Q. Take us back to the very beginning when you met as design students at the Queensland College of Art – do you recall what you first connected over and how that led to working together? Has that method of working together changed much over the years (other than being in different countries!)?

We met in Brisbane in our first year at Griffith University. A lecturer paired us up for a project, and we’ve worked on everything together ever since. We quickly realised how much we had in common and, through both socialising and collaborating, we became inseparable.

We spent many years working side by side in the same studio, so by the time Craig moved to New York and Karl to London, we already had a strong working relationship. That shared history has allowed us to continue collaborating today, even though it’s now mostly virtual—through file sharing, messaging, and video calls.

So, our method of working together hasn’t really changed, even though we’re in different countries—it’s always been built on trust and communication.

Q. How important is location to your work and how does your work for this year’s Brisbane Festival play into that philosophy? Is it different being somewhere you have lots of memories as a young person setting out as artists?

Location is everything, especially with public art. We want people from the area to see themselves reflected in the work, so we always try to integrate local elements into what we create. Brisbane is particularly significant to us—it’s where we met and began our careers—so having the chance to create a work that speaks to that history is deeply meaningful.

Our main installation for the Brisbane Festival is called Walk This Way. It’s a series of large-scale inflatable arches that transform the Kangaroo Point Bridge into an immersive experience. The installation shifts through a vibrant spectrum of colourful arches, creating a sense of perspective that changes as you cross the bridge. By working with the existing architecture, we aimed to make the artwork feel unified with its surroundings—like a warm embrace of the city itself.

Q. You’ve worked with leading global clients, including Vogue, Google, Apple, Chanel, and Vanity Fair – is there a stand-out project or moment for you both from across your art journey?

Creating a portrait of Barack Obama for the cover of New York Magazine was an incredible moment. It felt like we were part of the cultural zeitgeist, which reinforced that we’d made the right choices in our careers and in moving overseas.

Another pivotal project was our mini golf course at Canary Wharf in London. That project taught us that public art could combine interactivity and playability, which sparked a whole new direction in our practice.

Q. You’ve achieved a level of success many artists would aspire to, and you are still both solidly identified as having Queensland origins, do you think your success will encourage other artists from the state – and across Australia – to believe they can express themselves on a global stage?

In 2025, the world stage is more accessible than ever. What matters most is your perspective and your point of difference. If you can identify what makes you unique, then it doesn’t matter where you live. These days, you can connect with anyone, anywhere, at any time—it’s the originality of your work that sets you apart.

Q. How important is it to invest in public art and to have original works in public spaces? What does it mean for a community?

It’s crucial. Good public art gives a city or community a sense of identity. It becomes a visual landmark that can serve many roles: a meeting point, a source of pride, a marker in the landscape. These are things we often take for granted, but they play a huge role in shaping a community’s sense of place.

Ultimately, we want our work to spark dialogue and bring diverse groups of people together to experience something collectively. Participation is vital—without it, the artwork is just an object. Interaction breathes life into it; without that, it risks becoming static.

Jeff Whalley is a journalist at ANZ