Hyphen – Wodonga Library Gallery will welcome its newest exhibition this weekend.
Wild City will feature in the Playspace Gallery, opening to the public on Saturday.
Created by artist Kathy Holowko, Wild City depicts a thriving co-habited landscape where wild animals are considered citizens in a human built environment.
This mini city is being brought to life in a collaboration between the artist and Wodonga children.
Holowko has a keen interest in the effects that urban life has upon our understanding of ecology.
“In busy, human centric environments, I search for narratives and connections that can help reconsider our world as a cyclical and shared habitat,” she said.
“In different places around the world, adaptations are already taking place to include animals and improve the quality of urban ecosystems.
“These inspiring examples form the basis of this collaborative artwork that can help us visualise what life could be like for animals – including human animals – living together in a shared habitat.”
The sculptural building blocks of the city and landscape will take on a new shape, inspired by real life examples of infrastructure changes and habitat inclusion.
Working with the artist, children will transform this urban space with a variety of materials turning it into a “wild city”.
The exhibition will also feature fruit bats – part of Holowko’s Batmania work – and a series of dioramas that explore the theme of "water is life".
Visitors to the exhibition will be encouraged to become a field naturalist, making a pair of binoculars to search and explore the city for animals and habitats, dotted throughout the landscape.
Wild City will be on display until March next year.