The Arts Centre celebrates the frenetic spirit of home decorating at Christmas time with a larger-than-life installation by one of Melbourne’s most renowned creatives.
Lights flashing on the banks of the Yarra can easily signify the beginning of two seasons; that of theatre and Christmas. Production designer and artist Christian Wagstaff at times sees the two as one fused spectacle. His newest instillation is reminiscent of an abandoned amusement park with cursive neon letters reading ‘Now Showing’ atop the colourful frame of an empty, life-sized family home. Come night-time the Arts Centre’s lawn is fully illuminated by the house’s inlaid mirrors, LED lighting and motion graphics.
The Deck the Houses collaboration brings to light the theatrics of Christmas decorations in suburbia during the lead up to Christmas; the art of how families deck their houses with characters, lights and a well known fable.
“They are like circus sideshows,” says Wagstaff. “I was fixated as a child on the idea of clusters of theatres – theatre districts like Broadway – and each theatre owner competing with and outdoing each other. These suburban streetscapes at Christmas have this same bizarre, competitive energy.”
Wagstaff’s piece has been commissioned by the Arts Centre as part of a three year stint, bringing in different artists annually to build on the project and configure St Kilda Road’s own twinkling boulevard.
“Imagine all along St Kilda Road becoming a total suburban streetscape right in the heart of the city. I would love at least one of them to be decorated by the best amateur out there. That certainly would have heart.”
Deck The Houses evokes a range of memories and emotions for its artistic director, who is quite familiar with turning one’s own home into a show. Wagstaff sees Now Showing as a bit of an ode to his childhood home in Blackburn, which he “obsessively imagined” as a theatre for many of his formative years.
Part of this obsession included purposefully catching trams past the Arts Centre and clipping out pictures of the structure’s famous spire and gluing it to a picture of their house. While this is not the typical dream of a ten-year-old boy, he humorously reflects, “My Mum was an amateur theatre actress… so she quietly loved it.”
While everybody celebrates the end of the year differently, tacky Christmas icons can really tap into those vivid visual memories of summers past. Walk through this exciting first installment of Deck The Houses, sit on a cube as glowing snowflakes form beneath you and feel like an audience member watching our mad and spectacular holiday come alive around you.
Deck the Houses at Arts Centre Melbourne, Lawn. Pop-up installation until January 1, 2014
Free and or all ages
Images
Shannon Morris