Beings; Universal Everything

acmi, Melbourne

A world premiere, Beings presents 13 artworks drawn from the 20-year career of international art and design collective Universal Everything including the premiere of four brand new artworks including two interactive installations currently in development, and artworks created with choreographer Benjamin Millepied and the LA Dance Project.

Beings features an assortment of curious characters born from code. As Universal Everything’s largest exhibition yet, it offers a rare glimpse into the creative process behind the mesmerising visuals.

Visitors are encouraged to move, dance and play to bring captivating creatures to life on large-scale screens, then be hypnotised by vibrant projected artworks that experiment with movement, emotion and colour. They also learn about the creative process and innovative technology behind the artworks, with hand-drawn sketches on display for the first time.

Springing to life from a single drawn line into a crowd of fantastical creatures, Universal Everything artworks use emerging display technologies as their canvas. They produce vast digital artworks that subvert cinematic CGI, physics simulations and real-time gaming graphics – typically used by Hollywood studios and videogame makers – to craft new forms of moving image.

Created from ever-evolving algorithms, generative installations grow and change in real-time – responding differently to every visitor, every time they visit.. With ever-changing experiences powered by cutting-edge technology, no visitor experience is the same!

Photography Mark Ashkanasy

May 22 - October 6 2024