NGV’s latest exhibition combines the invisible with the digital realm

NGV is taking the discovery of art to a whole new level with the latest exhibition AR. Trail leading people around to key city locations in search of 22 invisible artworks. 

The free augmented reality (AR) exhibition started on August 22 and is a collaboration between London-based Acute Art and NGV International, The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Federation Square, ACMI and the Koorie Heritage Trust.  

Acute Art is highly recognised for collaborating with world-leading contemporary artists to produce augmented reality art using cutting-edge technology, and they have worked closely with NGV’s multimedia department for this latest exhibition. 

Live until September 30, AR. Trail works by making leading Australian and international contemporary artists’ work visible only through the camera of a smart device.  

Providing virtual art experiences has been on the NGV’s radar since the pandemic put a halt to people being able to freely attend the gallery, and the latest exhibition serves only to expand its continuity potential. 

“During the global pandemic, the NGV developed and presented cutting-edge virtual art experiences so that audiences continued to have access to arts and culture - even during the periods of lockdown,” the NGV’s director Tony Ellwood AM said. 

“This Australian-first collaboration with Acute Art proudly builds upon NGV’s leading multimedia experience and will allow audiences to discover art in a way never-before possible.” 

 Funded through the City of Melbourne and state government’s $200 million Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, the exhibition aims to enhance city visitors’ experiences and take people around to all the collaborating Melbourne spaces.  

Unique and unexpected locations are also on the trail, and all artworks explore connections to the environment, the human condition and specifically how people inhabit modern cities.  

Among the works displayed at NGV International is Australian sculptor Ron Mueck’s never-before-seen, gravity-defying Head Space - a large human skull - floating over the waterwall entrance.  

Inside the gallery, work from KAWS, Marco Brambilla, David Shrigley and Tomás Saraceno will also be initially invisible, awaiting discovery. •

Caption: Ron Mueck, Head Space, 2022, augmented reality. Courtesy of Ron Mueck, Acute Art, Fed Square, NGV, ACMI & Koorie Heritage Trust supported by Creative Victoria.