Bed Jump:

PLAY JUMP EAT · Cape Town, 2009–ongoing

“Kelly Wainwright’s delightful Cape Town series, PlayJumpEat. See The Arch jumping! Good medicine on a sunny day.”

– Vanessa Raphaely, Former Content Director of CosmopolitanSA, MarieClaireSA, House&LeisureSA, & GoodHouseSA

Photographer: Inge Prins, Conceptualist/Producer: Kelly Wainwright

We were all born babies who turn into kids who jump on beds, whether we grow up in a shantytown or a palace. Then we grow into fishermen, suburban mothers and pop stars.

In 2009, Kelly Wainwright was playing with play, and she wanted to take it to a much larger scale. After seriously considering how to get all of Wall Street to dance a jig, or send tens of thousands of people down the interstate on bouncy balls, she landed on the obvious universal starting point: bed jumping.

Bed Jump invited more than 100 people to go back and jump on a bed, each in their own world: Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the band Freshlyground, local fishermen, church ladies, business people, nannies and kids in the park. Shoots followed in Madison and Pardeeville, Wisconsin, in 2012.

Photographer: Saul Wainwright, Conceptualist/Producer: Kelly Wainwright

Photographer: Charley Pollard, Conceptualist/Producer: Kelly Wainwright

Listen to Kelly explain her project HERE:

Take a quick look at some Bed Jump images taken in Cape Town, South Africa & Madison, Wisconsin here: Kelly worked with local photographers in the respective cities.

And, take a look at a VIDEO explaining the project a bit more HERE

Made for monumental scale
Bed Jump was always meant to be seen big: on building facades, in public squares, on the sides of trains, anywhere ordinary life could use an interruption. These images aren’t meant to be precious. They’re meant to be shared.

A percentage of profits from Bed Jump sales will go to the Koleka Foundation in Cape Town.

Due to the nature of the project, Kelly has added more theme words as time has gone on:

play * joy * beauty * abundance * connection * life * stoke * flow

Shown at: Infecting the City public art festival, Cape Town (2010) · Exposure Gallery · Misael Space · Olympia Café
Featured in: Elle Decor · O, The Oprah Magazine (South Africa) · Design Indaba · and more on the Press page

Following are some behind-the-scenes bed-jump shots, as well as some from our INFECTING THE CITY series & MISAEL SPACE show:

Freshlyground: Behind-the-scenes, Photographer: Antonia Steyn, Conceptualist/Producer: Kelly Wainwright

Kelly was a part of Cape Town’s INFECTING THE CITY with her BED JUMP project, which was a HUGE thrill & honor. She also had shows at EXPOSURE GALLERY & MISAEL SPACE before leaving the country to have her baby!

A huge thank-you to everyone who jumped, helped out and cheered this project on (click the image to see the full list)!:

– image from Antonia Heil

Photographers: Inge Prins, Charley Pollard, Antonia Steyn, Saul Wainwright; Amelia John Photography (Wisconsin)
Concept and production: Kelly Wainwright

BED JUMP & CAPE COUTURE were Sponsored by:

Peninsula Runners

Lakeside Build & Decor

Excuse My French

Kinetic (Lighting Rental)

Prelude Textiles

Sale’s Hire