Image: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
The Art Gallery of New South Wales is presenting Mike Hewson’s 'The Key’s Under the Mat', a free, all-ages project installed in the Nelson Packer Tank in Naala Badu. The exhibition runs from 4 October 2025 to 23 August 2026 and is described by the gallery as a reimagined space where visitors can meet, dwell, play and explore.
Hewson’s installation takes what the gallery calls “Australia’s most dramatic exhibition space” and turns it into a combined park, playground, construction site and commons. According to the gallery, the work was developed in the artist’s Sydney workshop and constructed from thousands of salvaged objects and materials, making the Tank into what the exhibition page calls an “anarchic and generous sculptural neighbourhood.”
The project sits within Hewson’s broader sculptural practice, which the gallery says has been shaped by his experience of the Christchurch earthquakes. In 'The Key’s Under the Mat', visitors are invited to use the artwork as their own, in keeping with the artist’s framing of hospitality and participation. The gallery presents the work as both a social sculpture and a provocation about what a welcoming art museum can look like.
The exhibition is located on lower level 4 of the Naala Badu building. The gallery’s website emphasizes that the installation is free to all and made for all ages, with no bookings required for general visits. It also notes that the project includes unique spaces created for artists and creatives, including 'Green sound box', 'Leftover heavy glass DJ booth' and 'Artist residency hovel'.
Hewson’s installation is designed for active use rather than passive viewing. The gallery says visitors can gather, picnic, play, make, perform and explore within the underground art park, and that food and drink are permitted in designated areas of the space. The site also states that a public barbecue operates in the park, with visitors able to bring their own utensils and barbecue favourites, subject to the gallery’s food rules and safety notices.
The Tank installation is presented alongside accessibility guidance that reflects the work’s physical complexity. The gallery warns that visitors may encounter rough and uneven surfaces, water features, some hot surfaces and enclosed spaces with high temperatures and low visibility. It also says most areas are accessible to wheelchair users and motorised scooters, though the steam room and sauna are not, and that caretakers are on hand to provide guidance or support.
The exhibition page includes a separate short film, 'Borrowed Time', following professional parkour athlete Fletcher Hansen through Hewson’s underground art park, and another video in which the artist tours his Sydney studio while preparing the transformation of the Tank. The gallery also notes that planning an exclusive early access booking is possible for groups. The exhibition remains open until 23 August 2026.
