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Victoria, you've heard of pink lakes and pink cliffs, but this might be Melbourne's first pink pond. This summer the NGV is unveiling a pink pond in the Grollo Equiset Garden (the gallery's sculpture garden). The blushing body of water, titled 'pond[er]' is the work of the winner of the NGV's 2021 Architecture Commission, and will be designed and produced by architecture firm Taylor Knights and artist James Carey.
Unsurprisingly, the pond is inspired by Australia's pink salt lakes but also draws from the original architectural designs for the NGV International. In addition to the large, pink pool of water, 'pond[er]' also features beds of native Victorian wildflowers that will bloom at varying stages throughout the installation's tenure. It's sustainable too, with the installation's materials to be sourced or made locally and to then be distributed to Landcare, Indigenous and community groups for further use following deinstallation.
NGV director, Tony Ellwood, said "Through an elegant interplay of architectural and landscape elements, this work draws our attention to the challenges facing Australia’s many catchments and river systems, whilst also ensuring that the design itself has minimal environmental impact by considering the future lifecycle of the materials used."
If you're anything like us, you're probably thinking "can I jump in the pond?". The answer to that is yes, yes you can. Once installed, visitors to 'pond[er]' will be able to walk along a series of walkways and accessible platforms to explore the work and even dip their feet in the pink pool itself.
The NGV's pink pond is expected to be on display from November 2021 to April 2022.