Rel Pham

TEMPLE is now on view at @ngvmelbourne as part of Melbourne Now 2023. After working on this for about a year, it's great to be able to share it. A surreal experience to manifest an idea that has been in the back of my mind for many years and to see it find it's place and time. To be included amongst the other artists and designers is an honour. A huge thanks to all those involved; Ewan Mceoin @ewanmceoin Katharina Prugger @katprugger , Amita Kirplani , Haima Marriott @haimamarriott Daniel Curtis @sabicu_ , and Shaun Connor. As well as the many install technicians and staff that make these things possible. So many hands went into construction, troubleshooting and programming - only seems fitting that technology pushed back and was a force unto itself to be wrangled.

It's done! Been working on this for a minute. Please visit 4a.com.au to watch in full with the sound blasting! 💥 🔮Commissioned for 4A Digital, this digital animation entices viewers to glide into a neon-glistening and sonically-throbbing virtual palace, where a bounce-back of mysterious forces awaits. Rel offers us a primer for Electric Dirge: “A thousand blades slice through the air, their cacophony reverberating around the room, bouncing off walls and colliding with themselves. The room, thick with heat, vibrates as messages gleam back and forth through a colossal undersea of cables, ricocheting off satellites that float in a vacuum. A glacial shelf collapses into the sea. $DogeCoin is trending. The world’s largest bonfire – an incomprehensibly large inferno; billions of people circling around it endlessly; NASCAR at the Kaaba, each one going a different direction. The call to prayer plays while children learn a new dance. The border conflict between China and India intensifies. You have been committing microaggressions your whole life without knowing. You drag your finger across the glass. The exploration of virtual space is not unlike walking through an infinite hallway. A procession through endless messages that confirm, contradict, and confound each other. Any stop offers only temporary respite as you gesture towards the portal further down the rabbit hole – ‘If you liked that, then you’ll love this’. Digital pilgrimage is laden with intensity, absurdity, and banality. This is Electric Dirge. A reverie mourning itself as it celebrates its own rebirth. All occurring simultaneously. Forever twirling towards freedom.” Visit 4A Digital @4a_aus to access Electric Dirge in full.boommega Known for his strong use of electric, vibrant colours and a penchant for surrealism, Rel Pham explores old and new myths, traditions, fables and rituals, resulting in surreal portraits or paintings of monoliths, computers and objects that look like alien still-lifes. Curated by 2021 Curatorial Assistant Marco Rinaldi @marco.com.au supported by the Sally Breen Family Foundation. #4acentre #4adigital #electricdirge #dogecoin #relpham #animation

Female Voice in English: "Hi there. Upcoming is a tape. This is a general Chieu Hoi appeal in the Southern Vietnmese Dialect." Message, Female Voice in Vietnamese [English translation]: "Each day that passes brings you closer to death. All men must die sometime. But if you stay with the national liberation front, you will die soon by bombs or bullets. It is much better to spend the rest of your life among your family and friends. Come home. Make your plans to leave the National Liberation front now. Come home before you die, come home."

Exhibition extended! Step into a shifting dreamscape where fragments of prophecy float through the air. When Your Number’s Up by Rel Pham is now on in our Supper Room until 29 March. General Hours: Mon – Fri, 10am – 4pm Sat, 11am-3pm Extended Hours: Saturday 21 March, 11am-3pm Sun 22 March, Closed Sat 28 March, 11am-3pm + Open 1 hour before Specials Sun 29 March, Open 1 hour before Specials Learn more via the link in our bio. [Image Credit: Katy Roubin ID 1: A person watches a screen which displays a forest. ID 2: A small screen displays pixelated shapes and the word “Adorning”. Paper cards are scattered around the screen. ID 3: A large screen displays neon pixelated objects and flowers. Paper cards are scattered in front of the screen.]

Skybox by Rel Pham closes 15 March! Come to ArtSpace at Realm for this powerful immersive installation developed from 3D scans and maps of the Ringwood area. Open 7 days a week. For more information, visit the link in our bio. While at Realm, have a look at the video collaboration by Ringwood Heights Primary School and University of Melbourne students on Artwall, the book display by Realm Library, and have a go at the video gaming consols! Rel Pham's work has been shown at @artshouse , @ngvmelbourne , @4a_aus , @ncm_melbourne and @whiterabbitgallery

Final week to see When Your Number’s Up by Rel Pham in our newly transformed Supper Room! As cryptic hexagrams and whispered readings unfold, the installation asks: when we seek answers from algorithms or the divine, are we chasing truth, or simply reassurance that the story ends in our favour? Free Entry On until 6 March Open Mon – Fri, 10am – 4pm More details available via the link in our bio. [Image credit: Katy Roubin ID 1: Two people sit and watch a screen which displays pixelated shapes in blue and purple tones. ID 2: Two people sit and watch a screen which displays a neon monolith slightly covered by large leaves. ID 3: A large screen displays neon shapes and characters. Paper cards are scattered in front of the screen.]

First assembled then activated then articulated. These are the LED panels/tombstones/totems from "When Your Number's Up" - in this day and age it's not always as cut and dry to get an image on a screen - signals must be translated or they will become noise. Proprietary designs and software will refuse to comply and you see your computer and screen asking each other "is that dress blue or gold?" Or "I don't see the dress at all" You'll see dancing lights from afar and mistake the order of colour for a person or place. Come up close like a child glued to a screen and you'll see the illusion isn't greater than the sun of its parts. A light on a grid is assigned a colour value, as are the others. It doesn't take much for the illusion to shatter; an errant wire, loose cable or spilled coffee and the harmony of its image becomes dissonant but ultimately honest. The show runs until 6 March @artshouse Thanks to @fab_workshop and Nat Penny for construction assistance @miles.dunne.artist for the gift of electricity and experimentation Daniel Curtis for assisting me assign visuals to these proprietary nightmares Tony and artshouse team for set up, operation and compliance

Wonderful night at the launch of Skybox by Rel Pham in ArtSpace at Realm! An immersive video installation created from maps and 3D scans of the Ringwood area, Skybox can be seen during Realm opening hours until 15 March. The event featured an artist talk and the launch of a collaborative animation on Realm Artwall created by 100 Ringwood Heights Primary School and University of Melbourne students Coming up: free children's drawing workshops by Rel Pham in Realm Library. See our bio for more information.

Ancient divination and digital prophecy. When Your Number’s Up by Rel Pham is open now! Witness a shifting dreamscape where fragments of prophecy float through the air. This video installation probes humanity’s obsession with prediction, revealing how both mysticism and technology promise certainty in an uncertain world. More info via the link in our bio. Free Entry Open Mon – Fri, 10am – 4pm On until 6 March [Image Credit: Katy Roubin ID 1: A large screen displays pixelated shapes in orange and purple tones. Paper cards are scattered in front of the screen. ID 2: A person watches a screen which displays a forest. ID 3: A small screen displays numbers and characters. There are paper cards neatly organised in front of the screen. ID 4: A small screen displays pixelated Chinese characters and the word “deliverance”. Paper cards are scattered around the screen. ID 5: A large screen displays colourful, pixelated blocks. Paper cards are scattered in front of the screen.]

This Thursday I will.be opening WHEN YOUR NUMBER'S UP presented with the generous support of @artshouse - there will be an opening event tomorrow at arts house Neighbourhood Gathering (Doors 4:30pm, running 5pm - 7pm) - I will be there giving guided tours of the piece and having a chat. It runs until the 6th of March please go see it if you're asking the big questions, rolling the dice or hedging your bets. Huge thanks to @natpenney and @fab_workshop , @washdog.studio @miles.dunne.artist and @capitalwastepictures for their assistance and expertise in building this work whilst I was there for the Wash Dog studio residency - and @artshouse for their assistance and making the work happen! 🎲🔥💀

Join us at the opening for Skybox by Rel Pham in ArtSpace at Realm on Thursday 19 February! Exploring what it means to observe and exist in a deluge of data, Skybox is an immersive video installation referencing video games, mapping and 3D scans of the local Ringwood area. The artist will give an informal talk before the opening. Please RSVP for catering purposes using the link in our bio. Associated programming includes children's art workshops by Rel Pham and storytimes with @yourlibraryltd , and a video collaboration on Realm ArtWall by Ringwood Heights Primary School and @universityofmelbourne students.

👽🐸If you're around this Saturday (3pm - 6pm) I will be doing an artist talk and a presentation of the two video works I've been working on whilst on the wash dog artist residency @washdog.studio (in between chats and learning how to weld muahahaha) @fab_workshop generously donating their time and skills to teach a digital boy how to do some real work as well as @dave.court for showing me touch designer and everyone else with their brilliant insights and methods👽🐸 With just under a week left it's been an amazing experience so far hanging out so many cool, friendly folk of all disciplines and sharing skills and stories. I'll be chatting about the time here, work, inspirations and experiences so far in my practice. Should be a good one (why don't you come along and let me know if it is or not) - I'm a big fan of peeling the lid of what can appear as an extremely opaque and bewildering industry so if you have any questions please bring them!