NGV gives sneak peek inside second Triennial exhibition

Tentacles are in position, spectacles inspected and priceless paintings hung as NGV unpacks its next highly anticipated major exhibition, Triennial.

NGV Triennial, a free exhibition of 86 projects by more than 100 artists, designers and collectives from more than 30 countries, will open on December 19.

The Sunday Herald Sun got an exclusive first look at three works as NGV staff prepare each dazzling piece for display.

They include South African designer Porky Hefer’s 14m-wide octopus, Buttpus, which is made with giant hand-felted cigarette butts.

NGV’s second Triennial exhibition will feature 100 artists, designers and collectives from more than 30 countries.

Another Hefer piece, Q Tip, depicts a hammerhead shark using cotton buds.

Hefer’s work also uses plastic bags and coffee cups to comment on ocean pollution.

Natural History 2020, a work by David Allen Burns and Austin Young, sets photographs of local flora and selected NGV artworks against a backdrop of “asynchronous repeat patterns printed onto fabric wall coverings”.

The eye-popping installation is guaranteed to be an Instagram sensation.

South African designer Porky Hefer’s 14m-wide octopus, Buttpus, is made with giant hand-felted cigarette butts.

Elsewhere, Stuart Haygarth’s work Optical is a spherical chandelier made from 4500 tinted prescription spectacle lenses.

NGV director, Tony Ellwood, said the installation was under way and there was a great sense of anticipation and excitement as it came together.

“This exhibition is joyous, poignant, thought-provoking and spectacular,” Mr Elwood said.

It is the second instalment of the NGV Triennial, which is held every three years.

Stuart Haygarth’s work Optical is a spherical chandelier made from 4500 tinted prescription spectacle lenses.

The inaugural exhibition, held in 2017, set records as the NGV’s most-attended exhibition to date, with 1.23 million visitors.

Other highlights featured in the upcoming event include an entire floor dedicated to works about light and illumination, and US artist Jeff Koons’ larger-than-life mirror-finished sculpture of Venus.

“There is no better exhibition to welcome back our community through the doors of NGV International next month,” Mr Elwood said.