The life of things

Join Jesse Vivante for a one-day-only performance responding to Meagan Streader’s new light installation, The life of things at a former tie factory in Carlton. Blending percussion and movement, the performance will take place on Saturday 14th November, 3-4 pm.

Entry is free. Numbers are limited - RSVPs essential.

Visitor information: The floor is gravel. Please wear practical footwear when entering the building.

Do not touch the artwork.

Children are welcome but must remain under the supervision of a parent or guardian at all times.

The life of things - exhibition details

The life of things is a large-scale installation by light artist Meagan Streader, set in a former tie factory in Carlton. The project explores how knowledge of craftmanship and family histories are transmitted across generations. Drawing on a personal family history of woodworking in regional Victoria, the installation reflects on the knowledge embedded in making, the traces people leave behind, and what is preserved or forgotten across generations.

The work explores connections between past and present through the transformation of century-old family woodworking templates into an illuminated environment. Layers of neon light, acrylic, mirrored rimex and MDF shape a large-scale abstract installation where light and reflection suggest shifting states of presence and absence. Visitors are invited to carefully navigate a transformative space that filters light, history, and memory, and reflect on how different communities preserve and share their familial histories.

About the artists

Meagan Streader’s work pushes the limits of light within sculpture and installation. Streader manipulates, reinterprets and extends upon the boundaries of constructed spaces. Through site-specific interventions, her multidimensional use of light re-orientates the viewer’s relationship to the pre-existing architecture and scale of a given space. In this way, Streader’s work reveals the pervasive role of light in governing physical and social navigations of fabricated spaces.

Jesse Vivante’s work looks to unify elements of emotion through the shared human experience. Drawing physical, visual, and sonic links between the actions of performers, he consistently looks to work and present experiences across both structured and improvised performance environments. His practice is based across performance, sound design, and composition. It is through these formats he creates work that intersects, allowing for multiple textures and worlds to coexist in both live and pre-devised worlds.

This project is supported by the City of Melbourne, Banco Group and MARS Gallery.