Liquidarium: SAM's newest exhibition bringing imagination to life

By Caitlyn Grant

May 11, 2022

SAM: Vera Möller with her art installation, *Liquidarium*. Photo by Megan Fisher

Stepping into Liquidarium is much like entering into a child’s mind ‒ colour, vibrancy and curiosity to no end.

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Shepparton Art Museum’s latest exhibition in the children’s gallery will open Saturday, May 14.

Created by Melbourne-based artist Vera Möller, the installation was inspired by decades of visiting the Goulburn River and Victoria Park Lake.

In a display of green and brown hues, with elements dangling from the ceiling, Ms Möller has recreated a wetland landscape from the perspective of a frog looking up at its habitat.

Freshwater landscape: *Liquidarium* is viewed from the perception of a frog. Photo by Megan Fisher

“What I was hoping to do with this was to get kids and any other audiences excited about what’s out there,” she said.

“It’s to create in kids, grandparents or parents a sense of discovery; if you actually just stand still and have a look more closely you can find a dragonfly out there or see a long-neck turtle come up.

“There’s a lot to discover if you just pay a bit of attention.”

The large-scale display was constructed with sustainable elements, using recycled golf and garden magazines and decades-old pieces pulled from Ms Möller’s personal archives.

Sustainable: The exhibition uses recycled golf and garden magazines. Photo by Megan Fisher

As a biologist turned artist, Ms Möller said the exhibition, which was focused on a playfulness for the young and the young at heart, was intended to teach the importance of ecological spaces.

“That's where a lot of water cleaning happens — swamp lands, billabongs, wetlands — they’re natural filters, they're sponges,” she said.

“They are regulating landscapes and we tend to get rid of them, but then we pay for it.

“It's a very serious matter that we firstly understand these landscapes, look after them and introduce our children, and not shy away from the knowledge scientists tell us — there’s no escaping.”

SAM is hosting drop-in workshops in the exhibition space for attendees to create their own Liquidarium ecosystems — no matter the age, all are welcome.

No bookings are required and materials are supplied for the sessions. Workshops will run from 11am to 3pm on Sunday, May 29, Monday, June 20, and Tuesday, July 19, with further dates announced soon.