About
Celebrated Melbourne street artist, Rone has taken over a derelict mansion in the Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, transforming it into an immersive art experience.
Rone’s Empire is an eerie piece, centred around a young well-to-do woman, long gone (or perhaps not); her home, 30’s lifestyle and the concepts of abandonment and dereliction.
The mansion itself sits in a spectacular garden. Rone’s installation is spread across 14 rooms and two floors of the premises. Unlike tradtional artworks, you are not simply a passive onlooker. Empire completely surrounds you. You enter it and in some ways, become a part of it.
Rone’s ‘canvas’ is the 1930s Art Deco mansion, Burnham Beeches. This stately property was once owned by philanthropist Alfred Nicholas (1881-1937). He and his brother, George made the first Australian aspirin and named it ‘Aspro’.
Step inside
From the 6th of March, Burnham Beeches’ long-locked doors will be open to the public for the launch of Empire.
Step inside and you’ll find yourself in a cavernous room, derelict and forsaken. Partially draped dining tables are strewn with dusty bric-a-brac, crockery and candelabra. There’s a silverware cloche and teapot, a wine bottle idle in its caddy, an open copy of Norman Lindsay’s Halfway to Anywhere. Drifts of leaves suggest the space has surrendered to nature.
The scene might have been ripped straight from the pages of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. In fact, it’s one component of Rone’s expansive artwork – part exhibition, part installation, part virtual reality.
Art lover or not, this is one art experience you really should not miss!
Teaser vid
Details
Address: Burnham Beeches, 1 Sherbrook Road, Sherbrooke Victoria.
Dates: From March 6 to April 22 at
Bookings: Visit r-o-n-e.com.
