Aqil Arif

MPhitheatre operates on the Southern end of Monash Caulfield, using the energy of the strong wind tunnels to transform its chain mail curtain, which provides the backdrop for a lattice structure to be used in a variety of ways by the community. The moving curtain thus reveals the campus to the outer community and the community to the campus, increasing public sprawl and engagement with the university.

MPhitheatre through its use of the curtain also encourages a conversation within the communities at Monash Caulfield and the wider community of Glen Eira, blurring the boundaries between the 'observer' and the 'observed'.

The lattice structure which reveals itself through the curtain invites community participation into the site, by allowing the community to engage with public art in multiple ways. The site is transformed from being just a transition space to a space with profound spatial qualities.

MPhitheatre responds to the developing brief for the Caulfield Creative Precinct by generating its own public arts strategy. The strategy relies on using natural elements (wind) to develop public art works which develops an appreciation for the natural environment as well as encouraging participation from the diverse local communities.