Art on a grand scale: Debbie Ryan's Community Hall installation.
Filled with the jewel-encrusted carcasses of baby animals, the walls lined with black flocked wallpaper and hung with ethereal works from the National Gallery of Victoria's collection, Julia deVille's dark salon feels a world away from most children's play rooms.
Yet with a pair of tiny stillborn puppies posed in a dish, juxtaposed with dead birds, mice, lambs, deer, kittens and a piglet, the Victorian-style dining room is one of the main attractions for youngsters in the gallery's Melbourne Now exhibition.
Patricia Piccinini's The Carrier.
The works of New Zealand-born artist deVille - who began as a jeweller before turning to decorative taxidermied creatures - inside NGV Australia may not scream ''playtime'' but many other pieces within the enormous exhibition certainly encourage interaction.
Laith McGregor's table tennis tables covered with pen and ink illustrations, Darren Sylvester's illuminated dance floor For You, the Trugo Go-go course outside by PHOOEY architects and Flatland OK Studio, all at NGV International, are among the works most likely to unleash everyone's inner child.
The $5.8 million exhibition, funded with $2 million in state government funding and the remainder raised through corporate sponsorship and philanthropic donations, is the biggest and most ambitious event in the gallery's history.
Laith McGregor's table tennis tables.
Containing more than 175 projects by 400 artists, it is enormous. Almost impossible to see and absorb in one visit, it warrants repeated viewings, and the gallery has scheduled more than 600 events to keep visitors coming back.
Combining the work of visual artists, sculptors, photographers, architects, publishers and designers, the exhibition aims to provide a snapshot of Melbourne's renowned contemporary art scene.
NGV director Tony Ellwood, who conceived the idea for Melbourne Now, originally envisaged it as a smaller showcase. But as planning progressed, he realised it needed more room. ''I remember being back about a month … and being overwhelmed by the richness of the city,'' Ellwood said of his return to Melbourne after a number of years running Queensland Art Gallery| Gallery of Modern Art.
Julia deVille's dark salon.
''I think when you've been away, you can't help but recalibrate and [recognise] the unprecedented number of artists in this city … I thought, why don't we find a way to unify and celebrate that?''
Melbourne Now is at NGV International and NGV Australian until March 23. Entry is free.
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