The work called (This is) Air, developed by Nic Brunsdon in collaboration with ENESS, was conceived with the goal of ‘making the invisible visible’.
Utilising air as a building material, the commission will morph and change throughout the day as it expands and then releases air in a natural rhythm.
A poignant study of air and time, the fully inflated spherical structure will stand over 14 metres tall and will inhabit the garden outside Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria as part of the NGV Triennial 2023 from 3 December 2023 – June 2024.
Throughout the day, the structure will ‘exhale’, releasing gusts of air and forming an array of cloud-like configurations, before filling to capacity once more.
According to a press release announcing the commission, (This is) Air was conceived by Brunsdon during the pandemic and invites audiences to consider humanity’s relationship to an essential and yet invisible element.
‘By making air seen, heard and felt, the work highlights our connection to and dependency on air – a finite resource whose quality is becoming increasingly affected,’ the release explains.
‘The idea for this project was conceived by the architect during the global pandemic, when the air we breathed was suddenly at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” says Ewan McEoin, Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture.
“Taking the form of a giant inflatable sphere, this living structure inhales and exhales before our eyes, giving presence to that omnipresent yet invisible element that connects us all,” McEoin states.
“Air can be understood as part of our global economic, social and ecological realities. And yet, the quality of air we breathe varies depending on where and how we live. Air is universal, yet clean air is not.”
Each summer since 2016, the gallery has invited submissions from Australian architects and designers in order to create a large scale, thought-provoking work to inhabit the NGV Garden. The chosen work then is installed as the NGV Architecture Commission.
Previous popular creations in the outdoor space as part of the NGV Architecture Commission series include the evocative, colourful reimagining of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens called Temple of Boom, by Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang and pond(er), a giant pink paddling pool by Taylor Knights and James Carey inspired by Australia’s inland salt lakes.
Nic Brunsdon is recognised as one of Australia’s leading architects. In 2015 Nic won the Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architect Award, first for Western Australia and then nationally.
