The Sleeper Project
Train stations on the Cranbourne/Pakenham line, have been transformed into outdoor galleries thanks to the Sleeper Project, an exhibition designed to make us take a second look at a familiar landscape.
Sleeper has taken over five train stations and uses empty ticket booths, once staffed by ticket sellers, as display spaces for locally produced digital art.
A traveller watches Fortune Teller by Martine Corompt through a peephole at Sandown Station, screening as part of the Sleeper Project
Ten video artists have been commissioned to produce work for the project, which is a collaboration between Arts Victoria, RMIT University and the City of Greater Dandenong.
During the six month exhibition, their work will play on a loop at Dandenong, Springvale, Noble Park, Sandown Park and Yarraman stations, from 6am until midnight, seven days a week. Whether you're waiting on the platform or travelling past on your way to work, the Sleeper screens are waiting to catch your eye.
All of the artists featured in the exhibition are graduates of RMIT's Media Arts program, including internationally acclaimed Melbourne video artist Dominic Redfern, performance artist Cassandra Tytler and Zoe Scoglio, founding member of Tape Projects.
Their video pieces were made in response to the particular environments in and around the train stations, and several of the works reflect on the experience of train travel.
Waiting by Cassandra Tytle, screening at Springvale Station as part of the Sleeper project
Ultimately, the Sleeper Project is a fantastic way to get travellers thinking about the role that art can play in their lives, helping to make everyday experiences just a bit more interesting. Because even if you just see it for a moment, when you're waiting for that Monday morning train, a work of art can change the way you look at the world.
As Sleeper curator Ute Leiner writes:
"No longer is the journey an in-between threshold, a space between work and home, but it becomes a time and place to be experienced, injected with a touch of humanity."
To find out more, visit the Sleeper Project website.