empire by rone @ burnham beeches, sherbrooke

EMPIRE is beyond words.

Just jokes - Mamma always wants to talk about the incredible experiences in the east! The Burnham Beeches manor is an important feature of the Dandenong Ranges, although it has been abandoned for many years. Until now of course. Opening to the public today, this icon has been utterly reimagined into a fully immersive art piece. Work began in early 2018 as a blank canvas and is now, a haunting dream-like space that has to be experienced in person.

Australian artist, Rone, has transformed each room with full sized murals, decaying furniture, and an eerie soundtrack to match. It is as if this was the remnants of a party where everyone got up and never came back and just the portrait of a beautiful lady remains. Everything is covered in dust, leaves and even branches incasing a hallway. It is very much like a movie scene and you can only imagine how much work was put into creating this seemingly effortless state of decay. It is a multi-sensory experience with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality factors within the space.

Mamma doesn’t want to spoil everything, so you have to head to the hills and see it for yourself (if there are any tickets left! eeeeeekkkkk!)

Mamma’s special mention: So is this top of Mamma’s most kid friendly of experiences? Probably not. Save it for a grown up adventure out - BUT, is it manageable if you can carry your kiddo, ensure they don’t touch ANYTHING or are old enough to know better. Mamma’s 18 month-old was happy to hold on like a koala during our morning visit. The soundtrack creates a little spooky feeling, so the little guy wanted to be close by and he only popped down for short periods. All the sillies were run out quickly after a visit The Piggery Cafe next door.