Art After Dark was an initiative designed by Visit Victoria to entice Melbourne out of a perpetual shadow lockdown and encourage people to step up and out of the slump, to dance in the streets for a city wide celebration of everything that makes us a unique and sassy city.
Attendees were allowed rare and intimate access to free evening art events as doors opened after dark at the NGV, Art Centre Melbourne, Fed Square, ACMI, State Library of Victoria and Melbourne Museum.
Arts Centre Melbourne approached me to take on site design duties – to create a welcoming, after hours entrance to the Australian Music Vault. Tasked with dressing the front of what I see as the ‘holy trinity of Australian music’ (a portrait of Michel Gudinski hangs just inside), it was with a sense of honour that I took a glam rock approach -mainly a nod to the Skyhooks, but it had to be the perfect attraction to an otherwise brutalist Melbourne icon. What ensued was a giant, neon tribute to a 1970s glomesh purse, with a hint of Marc Jacobs charm bracelets.
Along with a dynamic lighting design, delivered in collaboration with the Arts Centre head of production, we were able to create a highly photographable, moving artwork that waved to passersby and invite them over to the after hours entrance to the vault, and draw attention to the DJs playing on the balcony above.
The Garb Wire 