Anyone who's visited Chapel Street will be familiar with the precinct’s wild and wonderful personalities. There’s the guy with the bird, the singing man and those sauntering the street on a Monday morning will likely spot one of the weekend warriors exiting Revs or The Breakfast Club, and soon, the street will be home to several more unmissable characters—17 metre robots to be precise.
The larger-than-life ‘space robots’ come courtesy of design firm XYZ Dimensions, who have previously shown their colossal installations—more formally known as Robot SPACEland—at Sydney’s VIVID Festival. The robots, and bright flashy lights, were met with much acclaim, and how could they not be coming in taller than the trees around them?
There’s a little more to it than just a gargantuan visual spectacle, though. Each robot is constructed with a mix of upcycled materials and industrial waste to highlight the need for recycling both at a local and universal level.
“We incorporated industrial waste into Robot SPACEland wherever possible, minimising waste streams and promoting sustainability,” said Tim Bestman, Creative Director of XYZ Dimensions.
“It sends a powerful message to the audience about the importance of recycling, and the message comes out even stronger when the light spectacle begins at night.”
You can catch your new friends from Thursday 14 January to Sunday 31 January for absolutely nothing, and if you’re lucky, you might even spot the bloke with the bird, too. Find out their exact locations along Chapel Street here.
Plenty happening in the CBD, too. Check out Melbourne Museum’s Summer Sessions here.
Image credit: supplied