Conductive Light Garden: A Circuit of the Senses

Conductive Light Garden transforms our historic ex-police station into a living, multi-sensory circuit where light, sound, scent and touch converge inviting you to move through, activate and reconsider the space between what is felt, seen and imagined.

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At its core, Jessica Ticchio's Endless Reality activates the vertical atrium as both axis and threshold, projecting portals that visually bind the ground floor to the rooftop. Drawing on a convergence of cultural and architectural references, Ticchio constructs spatial fictions that oscillate between the surreal and the material. Through shifts in scale and form, the work destabilises fixed notions of place, inviting reflection on states of belonging, dislocation and imagination. In doing so, it proposes a suspended, utopian dimension - outside of time and geography - echoing the transformation of 281 Clarence itself, a site that has pivoted from civic infrastructure into a contemporary cultural field..

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In contrast, Waiting for Summer operates as a sculptural meditation on pause and becoming. Drawing from organic forms, the work captures a transitional state where growth is imminent but not yet realised. Suspended between seasons, it reflects on cycles of renewal, fragility and quiet transformation, inviting audiences to consider the subtle tensions between dormancy and emergence. Highlighting cutting-edge methods of creation, sculptures that begin as virtual forms sculpted in VR, translated into 3D-printed objects and reanimated as digital sequences demonstrates the innovative potential of emerging technologies when combined with artistic vision. The exhibition is not only a showcase of aesthetic boldness but also a pioneering example of how immersive design can be used to expand our understanding of what constitutes an art experience today.

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Adjacent Ticchio’s sculptural cell features the building's resident florist, Miyavi Floristry's Hana Denki 花電気 translating to Electric Flower: a living installation where botanical matter becomes a conductive medium for sound, touch and spatial perception. Arranged within transparent vessels and elevated on plinths, floral compositions extend beyond traditional ikebana into an expanded field of sensory activation. Through embedded electronic interfaces, organic materials respond to human contact, generating evolving sonic environments composed by Michael Dable.

Conceptually informed by the Japanese Gutai movement’s emphasis on the direct encounter between body and material, the work dissolves distinctions between the natural and technological, the composed and the emergent. Visitors are invited to engage physically with the installation, activating sound through gesture and proximity, transforming passive viewing into embodied participation.

By positioning flora as both instrument and ecosystem, Hana Denki proposes a contemporary reimagining of Japanese spatial practice - one that situates botanical composition within circuits of energy, frequency and collective experience. In this environment, nature does not merely symbolise life; it becomes electrically present, responsive and co-creative.

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Host or Publisher Gaffa Gallery and Rooftop