Green Void – LAVA

I was in the Customs House last weekend. The overwhelming installation “Green Void” by LAVA was still there (until 10 June 2009) and it turned RED.

Red lights and green lights indicate the exact opposite at road junctions. In the same sense, the calm, soothing green fabric installation connecting different sides and levels around the huge atrium became red: mysterious and dangerous. Looking through the tube hovering above me, I felt that it could suck me up and throw me out in an alternative universe. Just a change in colour can stir someone’s emotion.

Slowly, green bubbles started to appear at the bottom. Were these going to spread and make the whole thing green again?

I suddenly thought of its similarities to the large number of products, building materials and architecture that claimed to be environmentally friendly. Are they truely green? Or is it just a tint of green light shone on a white surface? It might even turn into an opposite colour with a flick of switch by mistake. Many so-called “green” products use a lot energy in production, some “green” buildings requires careful control to work. Architects need to look into all that and make informed choices. Not easy.

Dr. Chatterjee wrote in Architecture Australia (May/June 2009, p.26) “The installation is capable of satifying a casual visitor as well as a highly learned audience.”

This is so true. But am I a casual visitor or a highly learned individual?

I stood there and sank into deep thinking.

Photographs:
Author

Reference:
Architecture Australia – May/June 2009, p.25-26

Further Reading:
Customs House
360 degree panorama by Peter Murphy
ArchDaily
LAVA