It seems fitting that the co-opted electrical substation in Newport, Melbourne should be the site of an enterprising arts space. Formerly it was used to generate electricity for Victorian Railways (it fell into disrepair in the 1960s). Perhaps some residual energy still pulses through the concrete lattice of its red-bricked walls or runs along the arched tops of its double-story windows, investing the art produced, performed, and housed with an extra something. Who knows? Equally nebulous as this supposition is The Substation art space’s 2017 season programming, which includes an eclectic line-up of mixed-media art, music, and theatre. Explorations of history, conflict, and fear sit alongside stimulating and meditative audience immersion pieces, one of which was its season opener: The Long String Instrument, presented in collaboration with Liquid Architecture.

Upon reaching the performance space on the top floor, the audience was greeted with the long strings of the ‘instrument’ itself; two sets of tautly suspended thin metallic filaments spanning more than twenty metres from one end of the room to the other. The audience was on either side. Between the two sets of strings was a space for Ellen Fullman, the creator. Back and forth she paced within the instrument, manipulating the strings to produce overtones that complemented the harmonies of cellist Theresa Wong.