Taking audiences to another space

By William Arnott

The Testing Grounds is set to transition into another world this month as the Centre for Projection Art presents the aptly titled “Another Space”.

Highlighting seven contemporary artists from both Melbourne and the United States, Another Space explores digital culture with digital media.

Another Space focuses in particular on the space in between the physical and the virtual, and what this dependence on the Internet means for society.

To access this “in between” space, the artists embrace contemporary culture and use technology to create experiences.

Curator Yandell Walton said Another Space had been something she had been thinking about for a long time.

“Each artist has blown me away with their work, both here and in the US,” she said. “All of them have stepped out of the normal screen-based format.”

Technology plays a large part in Another Space, helping the viewer see the world through a different lens each time.

There are a mix of large-scale projections and screen-based works that range in their immersiveness from virtual reality to screen savers on an old Macintosh.

“One artists is using a gaming platform to generate the art each time,” said Walton.

Three of the works are viewable every night as public artwork, and some are even viewable from outside the site.

“We’re having a closing night ceremony on June 30,” said Walton. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to get out and about in the beginnings of winter.”

For more information about the Another Space exhibition, visit www.testing-grounds.com.au