‍ ‍HIDDEN 2026

I thought I’d start big with my first Blog, and what better place to start than the largest artwork I have made to date! As the image (right) suggests, the scale is apparent judging by Mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves’ awe as she experiences the transformative aspects of The Arboretum, part of HIDDEN 2026, a micro festival of large-scale immersive inflatable art, Ballarat Civic Hall. This project was made possible by Creative City Ballarat’s Public Art Sector Development.

Thrilled to have been selected. along with five fellow artists from two hundred odd applicants. I completed a four-month learning curve that included regular masterclasses, site selection, public art protocol, and concept development under lead mentor Prof David Cross and industry partner Industrial designer Mikael Abramowitch.

The interrelations of this work integrate into my art practice as closure. Under Projects on this site: Rites of Passage, Victoria Garnons Williams wrote the subheading No Going Back. I left Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999 to live in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The last major work I made that year was Tattoo (below left). This work and The Arboretum bookend a major underlying odyssey in my journey as an artist. I’m not sure that I understand what it all means and I’m not sure that I want to. I’m a thinker, not a talker; I find my voice more in writing at the moment, possibly a hangover from thesis writing…

Tattoo, 1999. Oil on linen. 900mm x 1100mm

The Arboretum, 2026. Fabric, air, sonics, aromatics, LED. Interactive inflatable art installation. 7m diameter.