Join us for a closing party of sorts, celebrating a piece of architecture that was – Nic Brunsdon’s 2023 NGV Architecture Commission (This is) Air – and Mess Books’ publication of the same name. With the work now de-installed, we want to celebrate with one last discussion about (This is) Air – the idea, the sphere, the book – and an industry gathering inviting reflection, curiosity and questions.

Until recently, (This is) Air stood in the NGV’s garden as a provocation to visitors to consider the universal matter that binds us all. Harnessing air as a building material to take form as a large sphere that inflates (inhales) and deflates (exhales) on a natural, looping rhythm, the work made the invisible seen, felt and heard, drawing attention to our interdependency and offering moments of joy and lightness in its at times unpredictable poetics.

The book brings together project working materials and documentation, as well as contributions from the likes of Jessica Kwok (Storefront for Art and Architecture, NYC), Mark Jacques (RMIT, Openwork) and Dr Timothy Moore (NGV, Sibling Architecture). At its core, it is a book that calls upon readers to reconsider the way we think about one of the defining features of life on earth – breathing air – and the relationship of our architecture to it.

Join Brunsdon and book editor Emma Pegrum for a short conversation hosted by Kate Hulett, followed by free celebratory drinks courtesy Shelter Brewing. Our friends at Spacemarket are hosting an event downstairs at the same time, and will gather with us upstairs afterwards for drinks and chats on the balcony.

Full address:
P&O Hotel, 25 High Street
(Entry via Mouat St)
Fremantle, WA, 6160

Running times:
4:30pm: Doors open
4:45pm: (This is) Air Talk
5:30pm: Q&A
5:45 – 6:30pm: Spacemarket Event
6:30pm: Balcony Drinks
8:00pm: Event finishes

Tickets are $5, redeemable against a book purchase.

For questions about this event please contact the organiser.

Mess Books

Mess Books is a Boorloo/Perth-based publisher and creative practice with an interest in contemporary art, photography, design, architecture and society. Founded by writer and editor Emma Pegrum and art director and designer Bec Stawell Wilson, Mess Books works with specialist paper suppliers and printers in Australia and internationally, coveting the artisanal production of high-quality books while also valuing innovative approaches that seek to retain the book as a site of open-access information.