Nov 3, 2009
From Artist John Vella
The notion of branding anything with something extinct is bizarre – especially when it pertains to the erasure of indigenous fauna. And yet there is the mystery aspect, the energy of ‘what if’ of rediscovering, the suggestion of wildness and intrigue that products such as Cascade beer successfully exploit. Ultimately I think The Tassie Tiger remains our most specific and enduring symbol.
If a brand is meant to generate a recognisable twitch then perhaps the Tassie Tiger is the thing, however the formal qualities of the current design are out of synch with our aspirations and our physical and emotional state now.
So what would you see as our iconic image?
Is it our shape – the map of Tassie?
Is it our 2 headed legacy and mythology?
Is it our big trees?
Our clean water?
Our wildness?
For what it’s worth ‘Tasmania explore the possibilities’ is more painful than the tiger logo.
Don’t you just ‘love this place?
http://johnvella.com.au
The interesting thing about the Tassie Tiger as a symbol is that the mythology only exists so long as the possibility if finding one alive does. How long must past since the last credible sighting before we write it off as extinct?
Many mythologies and legends live on far beyond the the time when they are proven unrealistic. What I think is interesting is the idea that Tassie could be about the possibility that you may find something, not something literal like a tiger, but that elusive something that you’ve been missing… Time alone, a return to nature, friendly people.