Sydney's Beautiful Mortuary Station Will Become an Exhibition Space

Ever cruised past that beautiful, old train station just down from Central and wondered how it could possibly be disused? Regent Street station, better known as Mortuary Station for practical reasons, is the Venetian 13th century Gothic style building sitting on the western side of Sydney Yard in Chippendale. It's name isn't a joke, it once saw funeral trains depart for Rookwood Cemetery in the 1860s.

In the '30s it was used as a platform for horses and dogs, in the '80s as a pancake restaurant called Magic Mortuary and then in 1985 it was restored and given heritage status by the State Rail Authority. Until now, it's been a sporadically used for functions. But next March, it'll play host to some extraordinary art installations — the Biennale of Sydney has adopted it as one of their newest venues their 2016 exhibition.

The Biennale of Sydney will turn twenty in 2016. Artistic director Stephanie Rosenthal spilled the beans today on what we can expect, naming the first 73 artists and revealing the Sydney venues and 'in-between' spaces the exhibition will inhabit between 18 March and 5 June. The seven venues will transform into temporary 'embassies of thought' rather than galleries, with each 'embassy' embracing a specific theme. Cockatoo Island will become the Embassy of the Real, the Art Gallery of New South Wales will be transformed into the Embassy of Spirits, alongside Carriageworks (Embassy of Disappearance), Artspace (Embassy of Non-Participation), Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (Embassy of Translation), and a bookshop (Embassy of Stanislaw Lem). Mortuary Station will become the Embassy of Transition, in its first ever Biennale appearance.

Exhibiting contemporary artists at the Embassy of Transition will be Taiwanese artist Charwei Tsai and UK artist Marco Chiandetti.

The 20th Biennale of Sydney runs between 18 March and 5 June. As always, the exhibition is free. Check out our 2016 program rundown for more.

By Shannon Connellan and Jasmine Crittenden. Image: J Bar, CC.