I was lucky enough to meet with Mikala Dwyer when she was commissioned to come up with a creative response to the space at University Square, Carlton. I responded with a poem (see below). We spoke about her wonderful artwork under a beautiful tree that houses one of her ‘possums’. She is an incredible artist and I’ve been so lucky to get to know her. The talk was recorded if you want to listen. Thanks to the City of Melbourne and especially their Public Works team.
From the City of Melbourne website:
Mikala Dwyer’s new temporary public art commission, Apparition, can be seen after dark 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 public artwork was developed through a long-term engagement with the site, beginning with a two-week intensive that focused on the contested public realm.
Dwyer is interested in the sensibility and mythology of objects and spaces, including the irrational and the repressed. For Apparition, she was inspired by a population of possums that inhabits the mature elm trees at the heart of the square.
Dwyer worked with animator Gina Moore to create a giant holographic possum, which haunts the square’s northern plaza at night.
Mikala Dwyer, Apparition was commissioned by the City of Melbourne in collaboration with RMIT University.
Mikala Dwyer, Apparition, 2021 night-time digital projection onto holo-gauze screen. Photo by Darren Tanny Tan.