A public art installation combining projections, sound and augmented reality will come to Orange this month as part of Orange City Council’s Future City Public Art Project.
Brisbane artist Kellie O’Dempsey’s interactive installation What did you say? will light up Robertson Park between 7.30pm and midnight, from Thursday 20 October to Sunday 30 October.
The park’s trees will be used as a backdrop for projected images that reimagine the ‘stomata’ (microscopic pores on the leaves that exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen) as the mouth through which the planet breathes.
LIGHT, SOUND: Kellie O ‘Dempsey and Mick Dick performance as part of ‘Botanica’ in Brisbane Botanic Gardens, 2021. Photo: Cian Sanders
Viewers are asked to listen and breathe, be present in the moment, to connect, consider and rest, as the artwork responds to our strange and ever-shifting social and environmental climate.
The work includes a smartphone-operated augmented reality component where visitors can scan a QR code and view the animation through their device.
Orange City Council’s Services Policy Committee Chair Mel McDonell said this was the first piece of public art of its type to be featured in the Future City Public Art Project.
“We’ve seen so many unique and wonderful public murals and installations reinvigorate the central business district over the past year or so, that have brought colour and interest to otherwise overlooked spaces and created plenty of conversation in the community,” Cr McDonell said.
“The wide variety of the art is part of the appeal of the Future City Public Art Project, and this installation is no exception, as it brings a unique experience to the focal point of the CBD, Robertson Park, for a limited time.
“I encourage everyone to take the opportunity to enjoy this unique experience from a nationally acclaimed artist.”
A highlight of the installation will be held on Saturday 22 October when the artist Kellie O’Dempsey will visit Orange with composer and collaborator Mick Dick to present a spectacular live light and sound performance Bloom, to coincide with the opening of the Here/Now exhibition in Orange Regional Gallery.
Bloom will transform Robertson Park after dark as swathes of luminous colour are projected onto the trees during two immersive live drawing and sound performances at 8pm and 9:15pm. Bring a picnic rug or chair and enjoy an evening of art in the park.
Bradley Hammond, Director Orange Regional Gallery said he was looking forward to seeing Kellie O’Dempsey’s work installed in Robertson Park.
“This light-based ephemeral artwork will be the first of its kind to be shown in Orange and will transform the park into a luminous and animated experience. I think it will be remembered by local and visiting audiences for a long time to come,” Mr Hammond said.
The Future City Public Art Project is funded by the NSW Government and Orange City Council.
About the artist
Kellie O’Dempsey creates site-specific installations, live art and performative drawings. Her practice is experimental, incorporating projection, video, collage, architectural spaces, gestural line and digital drawing. Working solo, and in collaboration with sound artists and contemporary dance practitioners, her diverse practice investigates transformation through improvisation and happenstance. Her works ask audiences to playfully engage with the creative process of making. O’Dempsey’s performative practice is nationally-acclaimed and has been included in: Art after Dark at Walsh Pier 2/3, Sydney, for the 18th Biennale of Sydney; MONA FOMA, Hobart; White Night, Melbourne; and Outside the Lines at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
