From Sunrise Road, the first museum exhibition in Australia showcasing the work of internationally celebrated English-Australian artist Bruce Munro, will feature interactive, large-scale light installations inspired largely by his interest in shared human experience.

To be presented by Heide Museum of Modern Art from 12 June to 17 October 2021 at their main galleries, the exhibition combines spectacular indoor and outdoor experiential artworks with intimate story pieces, revealing the depth of the artist’s practice and the breadth of his sources. The showcase will feature more than 20 key works as well as an immersive outdoor light installation designed specifically for the site that will activate Heide’s iconic sculpture park at night.

Titled Candent Spring, Munro’s outdoor installation in the Heide gardens is based on his celebrated Field of Light, a monumental light installation at Uluru in Central Australia. At its heart is the work titled Time and Again, a convex composition of abstracted clock faces or stainless steel waterlilies scored with codes and patterns symbolising past, present, future, infinity and the speed of light, essentially translating time into a visual diagram. Evoking a time machine, the gleaming dome marks time during the day through the passing of clouds and sky, while at night the lilies shimmer like radial starbursts. The work is surrounded by large clusters of ‘fireflies’, cascading optical fibre forms that visitors can walk through as they come to life at dusk in formations, which suggest the glittering spray of igniting fireworks or, in the artist’s words, a ‘virtual fire’ to warm the soul.

Heide Museum of Modern Art director Lesley Harding says, “The beauty of the natural world, the complexity of the human condition, and the vastness of the cosmos are all brought to bear in an exhibition that is at once playful, contemplative and thought-provoking, offering an unforgettable interactive experience to engage the senses and enrich the mind.”

Exhibition Details

Bruce Munro: From Sunrise Road

12 June – 17 October 2021

Heide Museum of Modern Art, 7 Templestowe Road, Bulleen, Victoria, 3105