An in-depth conversation about Mikala Dwyer’s new temporary public art commission at University Square, Carlton.

Join artist Mikala Dwyer in conversation with poet, writer and broadcaster Alicia Sometimes, to discuss Dwyer’s new temporary public artwork Apparition at University Square, Carlton.

Activated after dark, Apparition responds to University Square as a space in flux, suspended between stages of landscape redevelopment for the Metro Tunnel project. This temporary artwork was developed through a long-term engagement with the site, beginning with a two-week intensive that focused on the contested public realm facilitated by Sometimes. Apparition was inspired by a population of possums that inhabits the mature elms at the heart of University Square. With animator Gina Moore, Dwyer created two holographic possums, which haunt the square’s northern plaza at night.

Sometimes will lead an informal conversation to discuss Dwyer’s engagement with the site, the commissioning process, her collaboration with animator Gina Moore and the use of cutting-edge technology.

Mikala Dwyer has pushed the limits of sculpture, painting and performance, establishing herself as one of Australia’s most important contemporary artists. She has been honoured with solo survey exhibitions at Sydney’s two major art museums, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, and the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane.

Dwyer is interested in the sensibility and mythology of objects and spaces, including the irrational and repressed. She believes apparitions come from a deep need to make meaning of something — loss, fear, love, birth, death — and to address deep imbalances around power and the sacred.

Alicia Sometimes is a writer, poet and broadcaster. She is a regular guest on 774, Radio National and is one of the The Outer Sanctum Podcast (ABC) team. She is one of the Science Gallery Melbourne’s Leonardos and in 2020 she won the Bruce Dawe Poetry Prize.

This is a ticketed event with limited numbers.

Apparition was commissioned by the City of Melbourne in collaboration with RMIT University.

For more information:
Mikala Dwyer
Public Art Melbourne
Alicia Sometimes

Register via Eventbrite

Photo: Darren Tanny Tan