The Pool: Architecture, Culture and Identity at the NGV Australia - Melbourne
Just when you thought the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) was cool enough, comes The Pool!
An 11 metre long pool celebrating and exploring one of Australia’s greatest cultural symbols. With a multi-sensory installation of water, light, scent and sound, The Pool is an interactive space, complete with wooden decking and pool lounge chairs revealing the connection between landscape, culture and architecture through a singular architectural form.
Photo credit: NGV
Photo credit: NGV
Tony Ellwood, Director at the NGV, said ‘Whether natural or manmade, inland or coastal, pools are undeniably linked to the Australian lifestyle and our national psyche. We encourage visitors to dangle their feet in the water or relax poolside as they reflect on the idea of the pool as a place of cultural exchange, socialising, competition and reminiscence.’
Photo credit: NGV
The installation also includes a series of eight ‘lanes’ that present audio excerpts from eight prominent Australian figures who share their personal stories to further reveal the relationship between the pool, its architecture and Australian cultural identity.
Olympic gold medal winning swimmers Ian Thorpe and Shane Gould; environmentalist and 2007 Australian of the Year Tim Flannery; fashion designers Romance Was Born; writer of best-selling book The Slap Christos Tsiolkas; winner of the 2012 Miles Franklin Prize Anna Funder; Indigenous art curator Hetti Perkins and Australian rock musician Paul Kelly will be featured.
Photo credit: NGV
The Pool was co-curated by Isabelle Toland, Amelia Holliday and Michelle Tabet and was originally commissioned for the Venice Architecture Biennale by the Australian Institute of Architects where it received more than than 100,000 visitors.
Photo credit: NGV
The Pool is on at the NGV Australia, Federation Square on Ground Level in the Design Studio daily 10am to 5pm until the 18th of February 2018. Free entry.
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