Free-standing light-reactive art installation, Ovolo Hotels
Created as a seed project for a One Night Only presentation at Ovolo Hotel Canberra, it reimagined the iconic Monster Bar as more than a setting for art. The intention was to place the artwork directly into the life of the venue, allowing guests to encounter it from different angles as they moved, talked and gathered throughout the evening.
Rather than hanging conventionally on a wall, it was engineered as a sculptural installation. The 122×122cm Plexiglass work combined UV-reactive and phosphorescent media with a custom free-standing structure and high-powered RGBAW+UV lighting. As the illumination shifted, different aspects of the painting surfaced and receded, giving the work a sense of movement without anything physically moving at all.
That free-standing format changed the relationship between artwork and audience. Guests could circle the piece, approach it from the bar or catch it unexpectedly across the room. Its changing appearance rewarded curiosity and encouraged people to look again. What began as a single artwork quickly became a social point within the venue, drawing people together and generating conversation around the experience itself.
For Tommy, the piece represented an important step away from thinking about a painting as something fixed to a surface. The work occupied space, interacted with light and changed according to the conditions around it. The installation began to suggest a broader possibility: that art could become part of the choreography of a venue, influencing movement, attention and atmosphere.
Less an object placed inside Monster Bar, and more a gravitational point within it, it drew people closer and changing the room around itself.
Installation Details
- Title: Orchid
- Dimensions: 122 × 122 cm
- Medium: Light-reactive and phosphorescent media on Plexiglass
- Installation: Custom sculptural stand with high-powered 6-in-1 RGBAW+UV LED system
- Client: Ovolo Hotels
- Location: Monster Bar, Hotel Hotel (Nishi)