The National Gallery of Victoria announces an 'airy' new commission from architect Nic Brundson

Australia’s National Gallery of Victoria has announced the return of its popular NGV Triennial Architecture Commission with an interesting new inflatable installation from local architect Nic Brundson titled (This is) Air.

The installation will be realized with the help of Melbourne-based design studio ENESS in response to one the Triennial’s three thematic pillars, Matter. Utilizing air as its principal building material, the 46-foot installation will thus invite visitors to contemplate both natural systems and time, “exhaling” gusts of wind at different intervals before inflating again in order to inspire a sense of optimism amongst its viewers.

"The idea for this project was conceived by the architect during the global pandemic, when the air we breathed was suddenly at the forefront of everyone’s mind," Ewan McEoin, the museum's Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, Design, and Architecture, said. "Taking the form of a giant inflatable sphere, this living structure inhales and exhales before our eyes, giving presence to that omnipresent yet invisible element that connects us all. Air can be understood as part of our global economic, social, and ecological realities. And yet, the quality of air we breathe varies depending on where and how we live. Air is universal, yet clean air is not."

The museum added: “By making air seen, heard and felt, the work highlights our connection to and dependency on air – a finite resource whose quality is becoming increasingly affected.”

The commission follows the popular 2022 Temple of Boom installation designed by Adam Newman and Kelvin Tsang of NWMN and Tatiana Bilbao’s social commentary La Ropa sucia se Lava Encasa piece from the same year. The Triennial opens on December 3rd and will run until June of next year at the museum's Melbourne campus.

Learn more about the NGV Triennial Architecture Commission series here.