MACHAS

Airbnb’s Future of Travel app launch featuring Ray Oranges

It’s fair to say that experiencing a new place as a local is the Holy Grail of travelling.  Although unwillingly succumbing to tourist-traps or being caught in the midst of smartphone-snapping hoards is nowadays avoidable, it still requires a bit of resourcefulness and dedication.
Airbnb has then used its knowledge to expand its mobile app services and facilitate the interaction between visitors and locals.

The San Francisco travel giant had presented the self-defined “Future of Travel” app on Thursday the 17th of November and for the big launch has commissioned a series of illustrated artworks, asking various artists across the globe to capture the place they live in.

Ray Oranges, a Calabria native but living in Florence since 2002, was called to represent the Tuscan city. The brief required the Artist to bring to the table his experience and knowledge of the territory, not only with his visual language but also with his choice of subjects.

“It is impossible to talk about Florence without mentioning the magnificent Brunelleschi’s dome, so that was an obvious choice,” says Ray, “it’s such an ubiquitous image. It has been printed on a vast array of merchandise: from books to mugs, from calendars to aprons, but it never fails to impress. Even if it’s the millionth time I see it: it’s the symbol of the city, and deservedly so.”

“I’ve added next to the Dome an icon that is probably not even on the radar of the many visitors who come to Florence,” continues Ray “, but equally striking in my opinion: the Church of the Autostrada. Created in the 60s by Michelucci, one of Tuscany’s most influential architects, it’s an extraordinary edifice that it’s excitingly modern, both outside and inside— I love being in that building, it’s so trippy! My passion for architecture is well known, and I liked the idea of representing an unusual aspect of Florence.”

“The whole composition is tied together by the rolling hills that surrounds the city and that makes this place so special.”

To see more of Ray’s work click here