In the Riverbend room – NOT: rising tide (marea crescente)

In conjunction with Light Source, the Riverbend Room will feature rising tide (marea crescente), by NOT. NOT is a Sydney and Canberra-based artist known for his work in glass and ceramics. Often working with found and repurposed materials, his installations draw attention to the unshakable presence of our history and in doing so recast the present into the future, igniting an uncomfortable sense of responsibility.

Most recently NOT has turned his attention to the glass-making traditions of Murano, Venice. In his 2025 installation rising tide (marea crescente), on display in the Riverbend Room, the coloured glass that has made Murano famous since the Renaissance is infused with uranium. When lit with blacklight, the work glows with a petrochemical luminosity suggesting something toxic at play beneath its watery surface.

The city of Venice is famously sinking. In its fluctuating lagoons is a world of human debris linking to the earliest examples of human settlement in the region – all forming the basis of rising tide. In blown fluorescent aqua vessels swirled with specks of bronze and Italian marble clinging to ancient forms, the artist dredges up memory and plumes of hope.

Supported by Create NSW