'Living Rocks' Launched at La Biennale di Venezia!

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James Darling and Lesley Forwood’s installation, Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe, is NOW SHOWING as an Official Collateral Event at La Biennale di Venezia, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia, curated by Dr Lisa Slade.

Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe is grounded in the artists’ minimalist tradition; simple, strong, and with a magnetic power to engage the viewer. But ‘Living Rocks’ is a bold departure and a fundamentally ambitious project, achieved in collaboration with Jumpgate VR, Paul Stanhope, and the Australian String Quartet. Significant in both its investigation and presentation, the installation is an inspiring and immersive experience that connects the present day to the beginning of life on earth. 

'Living Rocks' addresses the question: what was our planet three billion years ago?

Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe 
Magazzino del Sale (n. 5, Dorsoduro 262)
Exhibition runs until 24 November
Closed on Tuesday

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ACF Fundraising Campaign Launched for 'Living Rocks'

To support Living Rocks see ACF Campaign here!

Living Rocks is the first Australian solo project selected as an Official Collateral Event in the history of La Biennale Arte.

La Biennale Arte provides an unparalleled opportunity for SA and Australia to present on the world stage. Living Rocks is an inspiring, collaborative installation that connects the present day to the beginning of life on earth.

Living Rocks will be presented in the historic Magazzini del Sale. A shallow 30m-long pool will flood the cavernous space. From the pool will emerge thrombolites, rock-like microbial structures that were the beginnings of life, and the only living organisms on our planet for 3 billion years.

The thrombolites in the pool in the Magazzini del Sale will be constructed from the roots of the mallee gum, sourced from the artists’ farm in SA.

The mallee roots as thrombolites speak of evolution and tenacious survival.

Towering over 3 sides of the pool will be a 36.5m-long and 3m-tall moving image artwork, featuring images from the present day to 3 billion years ago, created by Jumpgate. String Quartet No. 2 by Paul Stanhope and performed by the ASQ will soar through the space. Immersed in this experience, the viewer will “touch a piece of infinity”.[1]

The exhibition will be open from May 8 to November 11, 6 days per week from 10am to 6pm. Entry will be free.

70% of the project is privately-funded and underwritten by Living Rocks Collaboration Pty Ltd. This covers core components of the exhibition, including venue and technical equipment hire, construction, and installation costs.

7% will be provided by public funding bodies.

The 23% raised by this campaign will go directly to major expenses, including specialised technical assistance, electrical running costs, exhibition invigilators, and promotional campaigns.

Your donation will elevate the experience, reach, and impact of Living Rocks.

Suggested donations
$20 1 day’s electrical running costs
$150 1 week’s electrical running costs
$300 2 days’ wages for 2 invigilators to staff the project
$555 1/3rd section of the 30-metre-long steel casing holding the pool of water
$1018 1 week’s wages for 2 invigilators to staff the project
$1666 1 section of the 30-metre-long steel casing holding the pool of water
$2420 1 day’s hiring of the technical equipment to run 10 Panasonic projectors
$3152 Full season’s electrical running costs
$4584 1 month’s wages for 2 invigilators to staff the project
$7260 3 days’ hiring of the technical equipment to run 10 Panasonic projectors
$11803 Shipping costs of materials from Adelaide to Venice
$16878 1 week’s hiring of the technical equipment to run 10 Panasonic projectors

[1] Josh Fanning, City Mag, June 20, 2018.

‘Living Rocks’ an Official Collateral Event at La Biennale di Venezia 2019

Hugo Michell Gallery and the Art Gallery of South Australia are thrilled to announce South Australian collaboration, Living Rocks: A Fragment of the Universe has been selected as one of only 21 Official Collateral Events of the 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2019.

Curated by Dr Lisa Slade, Living Rocks is a South Australian collaboration between James Darling & Lesley Forwood, Jumpgate VR, composer Paul Stanhope, and the Australian String Quartet. The Art Gallery of South Australia is the Official Promoter of Living Rocks.

Living Rocks, the only Australian project selected addresses the question: what was our planet three billion years ago? It celebrates the cosmic imperative of microbes in action through the universe, most notably their survival by way of the great events of extinction that have happened or are still to come on our planet.

In Living Rocks, water floods the Magazzini del Sale, the historic stone salt storehouses of Venice that have stood the test of many an inundation. From an extensive pool emerge thrombolites that have been crafted, not by unimaginable time and the force of nature, but by the artists who employ the distinctive roots of an arid land eucalypt to create living rocks.

“The installation connects the present day to the beginning of life. It is a memory of our origin and a prophesy of our future.”  - JAMES DARLING

Show your support for this South Australian first with a donation to the project. Donations are tax deductible through the Australian Cultural Fund.