Robertson Park will light up for 11 nights from Thursday as part of the city's latest public art project.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nationally acclaimed artist Kellie O'Dempsey's interactive installation What did you say? will include lights, sounds and augmented reality through the use of a QR code that will enable people to view additional images and information on their smart phone.
"It's a lighting, projection and sound installation that works at night," Ms O'Dempsey said.
"We have neon lips that will shine a bright red and light the under carriage of this gorgeous oak.
"There's a serious of sound works, so there's horn speakers up in the tree and they have this sort of audio of breathing and it sits alongside the projection that goes along the tree and along the ground of lips that are inhaling in and out."
Ms O'Dempsey said she was inspired by stomata, small pores on the underside of leaves that allow carbon dioxide to enter the leaves and oxygen to leave.
"It's sort of this microscopic cell that breathes in and out and gives us oxygen as well," she said.
"I've reinterpreted that as actual mouths and actual female mouths and reconsidering us as humans to lean in and listen to the environment.
"It's also got a fun sort of pop look to it and the neon light red is humorous as well a signal to emergency."
She said the installation took about six to 12 months to create "because we had a few hiccups with the dreaded uncertainty that we've all been experiencing so I was able to rethink it and redesign it".
"It's quite modular so it can fit in different kinds of trees and spaces."
Ms O'Dempsey said she hopes the installation will encourage people to see and listen and be in the park to have a sense of the "absurdity of the situation we're in".
"It's entertaining and humorous but at the same time it sort of has an underlying issue of concern."
A sandwich board on site will have a QR code that people can use to see a "playful" animated image on their phones.
"People can walk in between that element and the tree itself," Ms O'Dempsey said.
She has been practicing art for about 15 years and has been working a lot in public installation for the past five to six years.
"I'm very interested in taking art outside the gallery space so it actually is a lot more accessibly to people and almost accidentally accessible so if they are in a park they could run into a work with fresh eyes," she said.
The installation will be the latest addition to Orange City Council's Future City Public Art Project and Orange Regional Gallery director Bradley Hammond said this is one of the first ephemeral public art installations in Orange.
"For me that's an exciting new chapter," he said.
"One of the things we are really trying to do is invite people to think about the civic spaces in a different and exciting way so a lot of our projects are engaging in that they invite people to have an opinion and to see things differently and also to activate the spaces using contemporary media."
What did you say? will light up the oak tree in Robertson Park for 11 nights from Thursday to Sunday, October 30 and will be lit up until about midnight.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Central Western Daily website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.