City Safari 2019

QV Melbourne is thrilled to announce City Safari, part art installation and part digital game, launching on 1 May. In his first Melbourne installation since 2011, Tom Ripon’s life-size neon animal art (NGV) will come together with a digital gaming experience to take users on a fast-paced scavenger hunt through QV Melbourne’s iconic laneways.

From Wednesday 1 May to Sunday 12 May 2019, City Safari will see visitors embark on a virtual quest designed by the digital placemaking and AR experts at Vandal (Sydney). Visitors must find five animals by following the giant animal prints throughout QV Melbourne’s laneways and scanning QR codes as the gateway to the virtual jungle.

In a race against the clock with just seconds to find each animal, players need to collect all five animal tokens and spin the virtual wheel for the chance to win a host of daily prizes. There are major prizes every day, such as a $500 shopping spree at QV Melbourne, with over $8,000 in prizes to be won overall.

"The widespread interest in September’s retro gaming competition Game/On, and the success of our other interactive virtual and augmented reality installations last year, has proven just how much QV’s local Melburnians love gaming in all its variations. The scavenger hunt nature of the City/Safari game combined with Tom Ripon’s iconic art, makes it one of our most fun forays into gaming yet," says QV Melbourne’s Regional Property Manager Lisa Fleming.

From Wednesday 1 May to Tuesday 22 May 2019, adventurers can get up close and personal with five of Tom Ripon’s life size neon sculptures in QV square: a mother and baby giraffe, two elephants and a cheetah. As an artist Tom in synonymous with his vibrant, eye catching illuminated woven wire sculptures.

His work has been commissioned by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Zoo and Crown Casino, while he has spent the last decade continually working on commissions from private collectors in Australia and around the world, with prominent Melbourne figures such as David Bromley collecting his work. Today, one of his pieces is featured on stage in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

Currently working from his turtle shaped house in Clunes, Victoria, Tom began as an accidental artist, with mediums of chicken wire and papier-mâché. Unlike many other artists, he sold his first ever creation—a faux fur bear’s head—to the owner of Melbourne’s iconic Aphrodisiac coffee shop in the late 1970s. With the introduction of bright and intense colours, his signature sculptures were lifted into another dimension.

"Since the last time my animals were exhibited in Melbourne, I’ve created literally thousands of them—from a Black Gorilla for Brian Goldsmith to a giant giraffe for Guy Pearce. I can’t believe how hungry people are for them!" says Tom.

Worlds apart from other retail precincts in Melbourne, QV represents the quintessential Melbourne lifestyle. Intimate laneways in the urban precinct give visitors the freedom to wander and discover the eclectic mix of shops, cafes and restaurants at their own pace. Located on the corner of Lonsdale and Swanston Streets, QV has something for everyone with boutiques, enlightening entertainment and cosmopolitan bars and restaurants.