ute leiner - awakening the imagination of suburban railway stations

For some the journey to and from work each day is the only time they spend in the public realm. The train stations act as gateways to public transport arteries, carrying commuters to their city bound cubicles and workbenches. Train stations are public sites but not the public places they once were. Temporary art interventions in public space can rupture the routine and expectations of the users of these spaces. People are momentarily taken out of their day-to-day habitual routines and invited to reflect. Artworks and installations have the potential to connect strangers by engaging them in a shared experience and encouraging dialogue, a re-engagement with our 'fellow travellers'.

Sleeper is a temporary art exhibition that takes place simultaneously in disused ticket booths at five stations on the Dandenong/Pakenham train line. Five artists have created site specific works using video and animation that will be shown from inside the unused ticket booths on the platforms. The video installations are an interface, prompting dialogue between between the artist and the public and potentially inspiring dialogue between fellow passengers.

The temporary artworks on show reveal the hidden narratives and the social possibilities. They let us perceive the space afresh and more intensely and make us aware of ourselves in time and space. Potentially they connect us and create a sense of ownership. No longer is the journey an in-between threshold, a space between work and home but it becomes a time and place to be experienced, injected with a touch of humanity and a liberating impact on the public imagination.

Ute Leiner - Artist & RMIT Research Cluster Coordinator
RMIT Art in Public Space