AR.Trail

Overview

As Melbourne emerges from the depths of another icy winter, you've got a fresh excuse to ditch the indoors and venture outside for your next art fix. The NGV, ACMI, Fed Square and the Koorie Heritage Trust have joined forces with digital production company Acute Art to create one of the largest free augmented reality (AR) exhibitions Australia's ever seen.

AR.Trail is popping up from Monday, August 22–Friday, September 30, showcasing digital works from leading contemporary artists at 22 sites across the city. Grab your smartphone and set off on a self-guided exploration, unearthing AR artworks by names like KAWS, Reko Rennie, Ron Mueck, Alicja Kwade, Olafur Eliasson and more.

Exploring the human condition and our connections to the environment, the exhibition is a thought-provoking one — and it boasts some pretty high-tech design, too. With your phone in hand, you'll be able to bring to life pieces like an enormous gravity-defying skull floating above the NGV waterwall, a luminous neon depiction of a Kamilaroi warrior outside the Koorie Heritage Trust, and a brand new work by Patricia Piccinini gracing Fed Square.

To experience AR.Trail, you'll first need to download the Acute Art app, available for free via the App Store and Google Play.

Eugene Hyland

Images: Eugene Hyland and Fed Square