Casula Powerhouse, the Gallery Space as Artwork

Whenever I go to see exhibitions at Casula Powerhouse in Sydney’s south-west, the building itself seems like an artwork to me.

Features on the way to the entrance also have a touch of modern art.

The interior of Casula Powerhouse is almost like a complex of installation art. I almost expect to see a danger artist in residence on one of the levels engaging in an extreme performance of endurance art, living without for food twelve days or hanging from a metal beam on a long rope.

I find the ramp-stairs fascinating too. They zig-zag up and up to the mezzanine level. A few months before I first saw them, I had a dream about narrow lanes of swimming pools with glass walls in a similar arrangement to these ramps, although the floors of the pools weren’t sloping. I describe my dream in my book Sixty Nights of Dreams.

The textures of wear and tear on pillars and floors could be examples of contemporary art, exemplifying the principle of accidentality in modern art practice.

These other examples of gallery infrastructure could also qualify as contemporary art.

On my way back to Casula railway station, I encounter these more deliberate pieces of art, the Kittenwall, a Blue Lady and her discarded umbrella, and a graffiti water tank.

The next time I come back to the Casula Powerhouse, the Blue Lady and her umbrella are gone.