2015, 7x5x2.5m, recycled wood, paint and neon, Sydney Contemporary, Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia
Luminous Passage was commissioned by Sydney Contemporary 2015 as part of the Installation Program. Breaking out of the confines of the booth, Installation Contemporary (curated by The Curators’ Department – Glenn Barkley, Ivan Muñiz Reed and Holly Williams) presented 12 innovative, site-specific and interactive works in unexpected places throughout the Art Fair.
The concept for Luminous Passage takes its genesis from Kregar’s earlier works; New Structures (2013), Pavilion Structure (2014) and The Dream House Project (2012). These three large scale installations were created from recycled materials, paint and in New Structures recycled neon lights. These works were inspired by the enormous amount of wood waste that is dug into landfills around New Zealand. New Zealand is a country highly dependent on the forest industry yet clear felling is still practiced and wood is mostly used for wood-chips that are exported to Asia or Australia. These work addresses the use of forests and wood in New Zealand in relation to this context.
Luminous Passage was a temporary structure that was constructed out of four tons of recycled timber that was painted white and had more than 200 coloured neon tubes wrapped around it. It was shaped as a glorious Triumphal arch that visitors could work through mimicking the arch ways that exist in the Carriageworks building where Sydney Contemporary takes place. The structure became a space of sanctuary and experience but also a functional space that visitors could walk through and socialize. This work is an exercise in architectural imagining with tangible application, which reconsiders waste for its real potential of spatial change.