newy.com.au – An immersive exhibition opening at Speers Point on 25 September 2026 will examine the environmental and cultural cost of light pollution, drawing on research at Warrumbungle Dark Sky Park.
Darkness in 589 will occupy the Cube at Lake Macquarie’s Multi-Arts Pavilion, mima (MAP mima). The multimedia work asks visitors to consider not just the stars obscured by artificial light, but the biological and ecological processes that depend on natural darkness.
The exhibition brings together Gamilaraay astrophysicist Peter Swanton, Mardigan/Anglo-Celtic artist Georgia Hayward and multidisciplinary Iranian artist Prita Tina Yeganeh, combining scientific inquiry with creative practice.
MAP mima curator David Rastas said the work was developed through experimental research at Warrumbungle Dark Sky Park in central western NSW.
“Their findings have been transformed into a responsive, immersive installation inside MAP mima’s Cube, revealing biological and ecological processes that are normally invisible to the human eye,” he said.
The project is the latest exhibition from the Australian Network for Art in Technology and MAP mima Artist Residency and Commission program, which supports work across art, research and emerging technology.
Its focus extends beyond the visibility of the night sky to the importance of darkness for environmental, cultural and physical health, inviting audiences to explore those connections through their senses.
Darkness in 589 runs from Friday, 25 September, to Sunday, 29 November. A free opening event will be held at MAP mima from 5pm to 7pm on 25 September.
More information: https://arts.lakemac.com.au
