TETHER is a high-tension spatial intervention by artist Luke George in collaboration with lighting and spacial designer Phaenomenon. A long beam of hyper-natural lime green ropes radiate from deep out in the bush, arriving at a central tree in the historic gardens of the Victoria & Albert Guesthouse.
TETHER draws a striking, neon vector through the vast mountain sky, binding and connecting something beyond, to something here and now. Drawing on techniques from rigging, arborism and rope bondage, TETHER creates an intentional disruption, an interference pattern cutting across the vista to bridge the tamed garden with the untamed escarpment.
Activated at night, the high-visibility lines transform into a glowing, pulsing current above the intimate energy of the High Tea Dance below; a physical wave of colour and tension where every connection is visible,
Luke George is a multidisciplinary artist creating work across performance and installation. Luke was born in remote lutruwita/Tasmania and resides on Wurundjeri Country in Naarm/Melbourne. Luke works with rope, tension, suspension and release, to examine the dynamics in how people interact and relate to each other, and to their environment. Luke is interested in ‘safe spaces’ that allow for care as well as risk. Luke’s artistic practice is informed by queer politics and spaces, whereby people are neither singular nor isolated; bodies of difference can intersect, practice mutual listening, take responsibility for themselves and one another. Luke presents work across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America, including at the Venice Biennale, National Galleries of Victoria and Singapore, Performance Space, Carriageworks, and Arts Centre Melbourne. Luke has been recipient of Fellowships from Creative Australia and the Chloe Monroe Foundation, and is a studio artist at Collingwood Yards.
Phaenomenon is the lighting and spatial design practice of Naarm-based artist, designer and wizard Aaron Ford. The practice uses light as a material to shape atmosphere, collective movement and experiences across nightlife, clubs, festivals and performance contexts.
Phaenomenon’s work draws from the social and spatial dynamics of dancefloors, clubs and gathering spaces, exploring how people inhabit and perceive space, and how light can guide bodies, shift moods and reshape the relationship between people and place.