MELBOURNE.- Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA announced the unveiling of a major new public artwork at Monash University’s Caulfield Campus by Australian installation artist Natasha Johns-Messenger.
The new sculpture, SoftTime 2024 is a remarkable six-metre diameter light clock positioned in the heart of the campus and is a significant addition to MUMA’s distinguished Public Art Collection.
“Since its inception in 1968, the Monash University Collection has grown to include forty-four public artworks by some of Australia’s best-known artists, enriching campus life for the wider Monash community. Monash’s commitment to public art as a key part of the built environment reflects the University’s steadfast commitment to the creation of lively and inspiring learning environments for students and staff, to be shared and enjoyed by all,” says Dr. Rebecca Coates, Director, MUMA.
Situated on the highly visible façade of Building H, which houses the Management/Business faculty, SoftTime draws inspiration from the civic town clock.
The marking of time connects people and activities that take place in an important social and public space on the Caulfield campus—the Campus Green—with a rhythmic circular movement. The prominent location inspired the artwork, which spans the two rectangles directly above the central entrance-way, connecting the space while gently disrupting the Building H grid.
“Historically, town clocks have had an important role in urban landscapes and cities, marking time in a communal sense and acting as meeting points or markers of location. As communal clocks have become largely redundant due to smartphones and digital devices, SoftTime aims to unite Caulfield campus commuters through an external emblem of time in a highly visual location for students, staff and visitors,” says artist Natasha Johns-Messenger.
Inspired by an analogue clock, SoftTime's illumination animates on each hour, with a section of light travelling around the circle in a short luminous burst before returning to full illumination. The movement of light invites reflection on interconnected rhythms of timekeeping, both universal and local, that shape our environments and experiences.
On an abstract level, the circular shape and light cycle speak to the cyclical nature of financial and business cycles, an important concept within economics which is studied within Building H. Additionally, it connects to the circular forms of basketball hoops and ground rings in Agatha Gothe-Snape’s "The Scheme Was a Blueprint for Future Development Programs" (2015) situated below.
The new sculpture is a significant addition to Monash University’s public art collection which is recognised as one of the most important and dynamic in Australia.
MUMA’s public art program aims to positively impact the Monash community, demonstrating excellence in artist- and art-led urban planning, placemaking, community building, and social practice.
Natasha Johns-Messenger is an Australian/American installation artist and filmmaker. With a primary interest in perception and site, the artist creates installations that employ body-scaled architectural interventions, optical works and site-determined film and photography.
In 2012, Johns-Messenger completed a Master of Fine Arts in Film, Columbia University, New York. In 2000, she received a Masters by Research in Fine Art from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). She has participated in international exhibitions in Italy, Japan, Colombia, China, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States.
Recently awarded the Southern Way McClelland Commission (2023), selected exhibitions include a collaboration with John Wardle Architects in Somewhere Other, Adelaide International, Samstag Museum, Adelaide (2020) and La Biennale di Venezia, 16th International Architecture Exhibition (2018), Water-Orb, Ian Potter Sculpture Court Commission, Monash University of Modern Art (MUMA) (2018), Sitelines, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne (2016), ThreeFold, El Museo de Los Sures, New York (2015), as part of the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP).
Notable public works include Alterview, Hunters Point HS/IS 404, New York (2013), commissioned by Percent For Art and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, and ThisSideIn commissioned by the New York Public Art Fund (2009). Johns-Messenger has won the 2023 EQUS Quantum Art Competition and 2007, Johns-Messenger won the Rabbobank Den Haag Sculpture Prize, the Netherlands and in 2005, the inaugural Melbourne Prize for Urban Sculpture with Open Spatial Workshop.
