Alto Air, a provocative, experiential exhibit by abstract artist Belle Bassin can soon be experienced in South Melbourne.
The exhibit, which challenges audiences to tap into their internal vision, is the culmination of two years’ work by Bassin, the 2017 recipient of the City of Port Phillip’s Rupert Bunny Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship.
Temperance Hall in South Melbourne is being transformed into an ethereal space, complete with large sculptures and paintings. Alto Air has been designed as somewhat of a collage; nothing is quite complete, with pieces being broken up within the exhibition, disrupting audience expectations.
As the audience moves throughout the exhibition, they will feel different frequencies vibrating through their bodies. Bassin has teamed up with artist and composer David Chesworth to create synthesizer soundscapes that translate and continue her drawings and choreographies.
Bassin has also collaborated with choreographer Prue Lang to create performance elements that will be on show at intervals throughout the opening hours on the weekend of June 1 and 2.
The Rupert Bunny Visual Arts Fellowship was established in 2005 in honour of one of St Kilda’s most successful early artists. The Fellowship supports artists to conduct research and development, produce artwork that makes a significant contribution to the field of contemporary visual art, or undertake a residency.
Bassin credits the Fellowship with her recent artistic growth, saying: “The Fellowship gave me the means to focus solely on my art, during residencies in New York and Paris. This was a much needed opportunity to test my work in an international context, it has greatly changed my thinking, ways of making and the presentation of my work. I’m happy to be back home and able to present my new work Alto Air, amongst my community in the City of Port Phillip.”
Mayor Dick Gross said the Fellowship is a cornerstone of Port Phillip Council’s commitment to supporting the development of exceptional artistic thinking and talent.
“The Rupert Bunny Foundation Visual Arts Fellowship opens a new realm of possibility for the recipient. Belle Bassin has taken the opportunity to explore her art in New York and Paris, with Port Phillip benefiting from the creation of Alto Air. This exhibition is complex, yet accessible and invites the audience to share in her vision,” Cr Gross said.
Alto Air is at Temperance Hall, South Melbourne from 10 am to 5 pm, 30 May to 2 June, with an opening event on Saturday 1 June from 10 am to 12 pm noon.
