![Installation view of NGV Architecture Commission 2021 pond[er] by Taylor Knights and James Carey at NGV International, Melbourne from 6 December 2021 – 28 August 2022.](https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/cache/1c/15/1c15e3831e16e7b0ae15784c0820b324.jpg)
![Installation view of NGV Architecture Commission 2021 pond[er] by Taylor Knights and James Carey at NGV International, Melbourne from 6 December 2021 – 28 August 2022.](https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/cache/09/13/0913de10243ffccba5d5762372beaefd.jpg)
![Installation view of NGV Architecture Commission 2021 pond[er] by Taylor Knights and James Carey at NGV International, Melbourne from 6 December 2021 – 28 August 2022.](https://cdn.broadsheet.com.au/cache/a0/39/a0394515b6de866113aeff5c7053824e.jpg)
Pond[er] at NGV’s Grollo Equiset Garden
A striking new pink pond has appeared – not out in regional Victoria, but in the inner-city. NGV International has brought the vibrant hue and flora of the state’s inland salt lakes to Melbourne with Pond[er].
The garden and splash pond were designed by a Melbourne-based team composed of architecture firm Taylor Knights and artist James Carey. The installation was the winner of the NGV’s 2021 Architecture Commission.
Envisioned as being a part of the NGV’s garden rather than a separate architectural object, pond[er] invites visitors to explore the spaces of flora and water via a series of interconnected walkways and accessible platforms.
It offers a space for visitors to cool off during the summer months, reflect on their relationship with the environment, or simply enjoy splashing through the pink-hued water - a nod to the vivid colouring of the salt lakes scattered across western Victoria.
The installation also includes beds of Victorian wildflowers, designed in association with Ben Scott Garden Design. They’ll bloom at different times throughout the installation to emphasise the beauty, precariousness and temporality of our natural ecology.
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