Located at the Dandenong Civic Centre, seven purpose-built gallery light boxes offer artists an opportunity to produce contemporary interdisciplinary projects including 2D and 3D installations that contribute to a visitor's arts and cultural experience of central Dandenong.
The light boxes animate newly developed pedestrian routes creating additional light, colour and contemplation. They also provide a unique platform for artists to contribute to the creativity and dialogue of the city.
The exhibition on display can be viewed every day and night on the corner of the corner of Thomas Street and Garnar Lane, Dandenong.
Current Exhibition
Spring Series
Pauline Mays
Pauline Mays’ Spring Series reflects the creative process of responding to music and the environment. Her art explores her connection to her garden, the seasons, and how she feels on any given day. Spring Series is a collection of mixed media on canvas which represents the colours and movement of flowers during spring.
Pauline is an inspirational lady who enjoys her artistic pursuits. She lives in supported accommodation for people with a disability. Living with a dual-disability, Pauline is encouraged to be who she wants to be through her community participation; through which she has gained confidence.
Pauline's early recollection of creating art was with her parents who were both artists.
Previous Exhibitions
GRAND MASTERS of ALLEGORY
Sankar Nadeson
May to July 2024
‘GRAND MASTERS of ALLEGORY’ was an installation by interdisciplinary artist, Sankar Nadeson. He drew inspiration from a local building, the former Dandenong Masonic Temple situated on the corner of Mason Street and Freemasons Lane.
Nadeson's wearable artworks of Masonic regalia constructed in LEGO® bricks were viewable 24/7 until late July 2024.
Through this fusion, the installation explored the cultural and historical significance of Freemasonry in Dandenong within a context of traditional Masonic regalia and ritual space.
The installation at Garnar Lane could be further explored in the lifts at the Thomas Street and Walker Street car parks. The installation ‘GRAND MASTERS of ALLEGORY’ was a new work within a series by Nadeson that explored the theme of ritual space and Freemasonry.
In 2017, Nadeson was commissioned by Freemasons Victoria to create a permanent art installation at Bayside Masonic Centre, entitled ‘Red Room’, ‘Green Room’, ‘Blue Room’ in collaboration with architectural firm Buchan Group.
Beachcombing
Janine 'Neeni' Durston
Local artist, Neeni, brought together a collection of mixed media illustrations and a cabinet of curiosities in her solo exhibition *Beachcombing*. The illustrative artworks were inspired by long walks along Victorian surf beaches and invited the viewer to explore the intricate beauty of the ever-changing environment.
Neeni curated a museum experience. The delicate organic objects, displayed alongside the artwork they inspired, enticed the viewer to get up close and explore the natural forms.
For more information visit Neenicreations / Instagram @neenicreations / Facebook/neenicreations.
Arts, Identity and Indigenous Storytelling
30 June - 1 September 2023
Arts, Identity and Indigenous Storytelling engaged young Indigenous people to strengthen identity and connect with Culture through the arts. Bunurong/Palawa artist, Kobi Sainty, worked with Bunjilwarra residents to explore contemporary and traditional mark making to complement their healing journey.
Painted Miniature Model Competition
28 March - 23 June 2023
This exhibition showcased miniature model painting practice in contemporary society. Artists from across Melbourne created miniatures, typically used in role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer 40k, Age of Sigmar, and others, to compete against their peers and gain glory in Greater Dandenong’s inaugural Painted Miniature Model Competition.
For more information visit the Painted Miniature Model Competition webpage.
Rampaging Critters
Samantha Thompson
10 January - 24 March 2023
Samantha Thompson is a multidisciplinary artist, facilitator and arts advocate. Her vibrant work explores feminism ad the controversial traits of being human.
Rampaging Critters was a wonderland of a band of misfit creatures with unique characteristics. They were the new life given to textile waste, each carefully hand-sewn and adorned with features reflective of human personalities.
Flora
Haley Cassar, Molly Mckenna, Connie Harris, Tian Du
November 2020 - July 2021
Four then students from Holmesglen College's floristry course, Haley Cassar, Molly Mckenna, Connie Harris, and Tian Du, filled the Garnar Lane display boxes with contemporary floral displays. The work was professionally photographed and reprinted to be installed in the display boxes once the original displays had died. This display was an optical illusion for passersby and was part of the Flora program.
Women of Greater Dandenong Photography Prize
March - July 2020
Located at the Dandenong Civic Centre, the Garnar Lane Display Boxes showcased the winning works from the 2020 Women of Greater Dandenong Photography Prize.
Like a shadow; I am and I am not
Rubaba Haider
Rubaba Haider is an interdisciplinary artist living in Melbourne.
As a Hazara woman, Haider has witnessed how fragile the ties that bind communities, relationships, and bodies together could be, and expressed this vulnerability through intricate explorations of cloth and thread. The intricate use of threads, fabrics, and needles in her practice symbolised intimate wounds and tears and how a mere thread bound everything.
Like a shadow; I am and I am not was commissioned for the Zephyr exhibition in 2019.
Australian Vernacular
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell is known for his engagement with Australian youth culture. For the last 20 years, Jon’s work had explored the visual potential of words using vernacular language and popular culture.
In recent paintings, Jon used abstraction and graphic design to confuse the original function of the words and phrases, elevating them to a pictorial object. The negative spaces around the letters became positive.
Uncommon Ground (Traversing Edges and Corners)
Danica Chappell
This body of work applied repeated form and layered action to photography. Constructed without a camera, the artworks were crafted from a darkroom performance that traversed the edges and corners of space and materials. Each window revealed a visual jolt of colour and material.
The photographic processes were relinquished from a predetermined engagement to the photograph and echoed methodologies of painting. The use of material vibrated from the frame that attempted to contain them and enticed a wandering eye to untangle the ambiguous play.
Sovereign Unto Oneself
Eddy Carroll
These traditional soft sculptures were composed of symbols from traditional wedding and love rituals from around the world.
Drawing inspiration from materials commonly found in Dandenong’s cultural precinct Little India, items such as veils, rings, and wedding dress trains were transformed into abstract shapes made from hand-sequined and handmade embroidered fabric.
Nocturnal Pilgrimage
Kathy Holowko
The work explored the artist’s fascination with the nocturnal world of native fruit bats. It aimed to intrigue and demystify the animals of the night.
Each light box offered a different insight using various mediums including sculpted bats, photographic prints and drawings.