Contemplating the shapes

The Institute presents an original art competition for Docklands to re-imagine the Southern Star Observation Wheel site – open to all artists as well as sculptors, musicians and philosophers.

Let the imagination soar as Melbourne looks up to envisage what is no longer there. The act of filling what seems empty can be construed as a means of control, to overcome the vacuum that lies at the very core of existence.

This most significant exhibition of hollowness will engage the artist in everyone as thoughts are drawn to cover a canvas of air inside the diameter of absence and through the radius of renewal within the stolen circle.

We announce anonymously now for the purpose of stimulating debate, some of the initial contributions that will be being considered for the exhibition:

Balloon Up: A huge helium balloon in the shape of a Ferris wheel bobs about the sky.

Iceworld: The metal in the structure is chilled to 10 degrees below zero centigrade so the spars structure will freeze water to reveal our own huge iceberg, bringing attention via an operating ice tunnel to the Icehouse.

Underpantaruptus: Washing lines drape provocatively from the structure across the void.

Sound event: A shipping container is lifted by crane each dawn for a week and thousands of ping pong balls are poured over the structure, they roll down in a noisy tremor accumulating below.

Clock: Fibreglass arms, seemingly identical to the current spars, rise and rotate as hour, minute and second hands.

Waterlight: A mist of fine droplets is sprayed regularly, through which light beams are projected to create a living image of gondolas full of cheering and celebrating passengers.  Includes soundscapes.

Hanging garden: Thousands of baskets and suspended trees and vines are hung from the structure so it appears to re-emerge from a fog as a sci-fi lost island rain forest replete with birds and insects.

Telepath your thoughts to The Institute by May 31 to allow our executive to ponder and ultimately deliver a shortlist of some hundreds.