Watch as we install Patricia Piccinini's multisensory field of flowers

The Field, a multisensory installation in ‘Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection’ is both a great artistic, and engineering, accomplishment that captivates all who enter the exhibition. This ambitious new commission for the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) is populated with the enchanting and enigmatic creatures for which Piccinini is renowned, but uniquely they sit in a field of over 3000 transgenic flowers that gently sway in response to passing viewers, the movement made possible by a multi-layer flooring system designed and manufactured by GOMA to function under the weight of the visitor.

Watch our Timelapse

Patricia Piccinini, Australia b.1965 / The Field 2018 / 3000 objects: ABS and PPE plastic / Dimensions variable / Courtesy: The artist; Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco / © The artist

A soundtrack by Grammy Award winning producer and film composer Franc Tétaz plays over 60 speakers fitted into the floor, walls and ceiling to create an all-encompassing spatial experience, as if walking through a forest pulsing with insects.

Behind ‘The Field’ is the ‘Mountain Path’, offering a steady incline from which audiences can look out, take-in, and reflect on the unique world of inter-species collaboration and connection below.

If you’re a lover of GOMA’s immersive exhibitions played out on a grand scale, then ‘Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection’ is for you, her most ambitious exhibition to date occupies GOMA’s entire ground floor with a retrospective of Piccinini’s most recognisable works from the past 20 years, and a suite of installations – including a large-scale inflatable sculpture – especially conceived for the Gallery’s expansive spaces.

Watch as we install the inflatable ‘Pneutopia’

Patricia Piccinini, Australia b.1965 / Pneutopia 2018 / Ripstop nylon, shed, air / Dimensions variable / Courtesy: The artist; Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney; and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco / © The artist

Known for her imaginative, yet strangely familiar, lifelike hybrid creatures, Piccinini invites us to think about our place in a world where advances in biotechnology and digital technologies are challenging the boundaries of humanity. Patricia Piccinini’s fantastic hybrid beings invite us to find beauty in a world not ruled by notions of perfection.

Experience the exhibition after dark during Up Late on Fridays until 6 July and enjoy live music and talks in the heart of GOMA. Explore the artist’s exciting new commissions in Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection, as well as significant works produced over the last 20 years. This informative 200pp publication is filled with stunning installation photography.

‘Patricia Piccinini: Curious Affection’ must close 5 August 2018. Don’t miss out on this magical experience.