Volcano Lover opens with an eruption of colour, light and sound

Volcano Lover, the first exhibition in TMAG’s major contemporary art series, Star/Dust, opens tomorrow (18 March)  promising a senational experience of colour, light and sound.

Volcano Lover is a multimedia installation that investigates the communities who live around The Nut in Stanley, an extinct volcanic plug in North West Tasmania; Mt Wellington, an igneous intrusion that looms over Hobart, and Yasur Volcano, Tanna Island, Vanuatu, one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

Volcano Lover artist, Lucy Bleach, describes volcanoes as the perfect combination of art and science. Volcano Lover captures the drama of volcanoes through an eruption of colour, light and sound, including recordings from from Mt Yasur in Vanuatu, and prompts audiences to consider how volcanoes affect the communities that coexist with them.  

The exhibition is part of the Star/Dust series which will include installations by Tasmanian artists Lucy Bleach, Brigita Ozolins and James Newitt, and is presented with the support of Detached Cultural Organisation (Detached).

The Star/Dust series is the culmination of a three-year relationship between TMAG and Detached which has previously presented exhibitions by Mike Parr, Patricia Piccinini and Anne Ferran.

The sensorial nature of these installations and strong focus on public events and programs invites audiences of all ages and backgrounds to engage and interact with the artwork. 

The public programs that support the Star/Dust installations, have been developed by the artists in close consultation with TMAG curators and art educators to provide experiences that will inspire even those who have little knowledge or experience of contemporary art.

Volcano Lover is supported by a series of public and education programs including artist talks and regular lunchtime tours, two Family Days on Sundays, 27 March and 8 May, and a school holiday program during June. Participants in selected public programs can also become creative scientists in a do-it-yourself ‘Volcano Lab’ within the exhibition.

Volcano Lover is presented over two sites at TMAG and Highfield House, Stanley, as part of Ten Days on the Island 2011. Volcano Lover is open to the public at Highfield House until 4 April 2011, and at TMAG until 3 July 2011. Admission to the exhibition and TMAG public programs is free. 

The forthcoming exhibitions in the Star/Dust series are: Brigita Ozolins’ The Reading Room, 23 July – 16 October 2011 and James Newitt’s To Catch a Tiger, 4 November 2011 – 13 February 2012.