Ghostpatrol’s newest work invites people into his world, taking us on an ethereal tour of his most sacred of spaces.

Spaceship of the Mind refers to a quote from a famous physicist, a thought exercise in which viewers must use their imagination to transcend time and reality, as if floating in a spaceship.

The exhibition, showing at Hugo Michell Gallery on Portrush Road, features a set of watercolours on paper, a collection of wooden sculptures and an installation, which depict a series of Ghostpatrol’s most intimate spaces, enhanced by archival pieces. These familiar rooms – his Melbourne studio, childhood bedroom and Tokyo refuge – invite viewers in and trigger deeper reflection on spaces documented in their own memory.

“I think they’re inviting and I think they’re interesting for other people to look at, very warming. And everybody has their own nostalgia for things like that,” says David (aka Ghostpatrol).

“I think people can make up their own minds, I think there’s enough triggers and invitation that…it’s open for people to finish the narrative, like a hint at it. If I made it too obvious well then it’s kind of finished… You are drawn in and you have to work it out yourself or bring a bit of your own experience to it.”

The installation, which resembles a room, is a life size amalgamation of some of the works, which allows viewers to enter the shrine-like space filled with objects. David explains that this idea came from his own experiences, often finding that he treated his workspaces like a spaceship.

“I realised that my studio and some of the other spaces I’ve been working from for a long time… [they’re] kind of like this safe space, a place where you are free of normal things.”

Spaceship of the Mind also features a large work, with the same isometric perspective but representative of a different kind of workspace. David visited Arnhem Land last year where he worked on a film project, so this stand-alone piece is a reflection of his time there. The piece is very different in its form, open and expansive, mimicking the vast, open spaces of the far north. David says it’s a glimpse of what is to come for Ghostpatrol, as he starts to process the experience and incorporate that into his work.