Mike Hewson

Taking the form of a colourful and dynamic 'handbook', this multilayered publication reveals the many people, objects, and ideas that have come together to create a one-of-a-kind project: Mike Hewson's The Key's Under the Mat.

Renowned for award-winning public projects that are at once artworks, play areas, and places to be, Mike Hewson has reimagined the Art Gallery of New South Wales' underground Nelson Packer Tank space as a combined park, playground, construction site, and commons. This anarchic and generous sculptural neighbourhood invites visitors to meet, dwell, play, make, perform, explore, and more.

Developed in the artist's dynamic Sydney workshop and constructed from thousands of salvaged objects and materials, Hewson's project is an experiment in participation, a spirited act of reclamation and regeneration, and a radical rework of the legacies of modern sculpture. It also serves as a provocation about what a truly welcoming art museum might look like. For Hewson, whose sculptural practice was catalysed by the experience of the Christchurch earthquakes, the artist is a host who welcomes guests to use the artwork as their own—'the key's under the mat, make yourself at home'.

The image-rich publication will intrigue those interested in art, architecture, play, and playgrounds. It features essays by the Art Gallery's head curator of international art, Justin Paton, and assistant curator of international contemporary art, Emily Sullivan. The voices of friends, collaborators, and admirers of Hewson's work, including author Megan Dunn and artists Agatha Gothe-Snape and Liam Gillick, among others, also contribute.

The first major monograph on Hewson's acclaimed practice, the publication includes photography of the artist's sprawling workshop, previous commissions, and new sculptures, as well as renders, sketches, notations, and playful interventions to extend its reach beyond specialists and across generations.