Roll - Nadia Odlum

‘Roll’ is an reconfigurable, interactive artwork. Featuring colourful recycled pipes and plastic balls, Roll can be constructed anywhere there is a grassy hill. Audiences are invited to harness gravity and creativity to play together in public space.

This artwork was first presented in Sydney Olympic Park, in Western Sydney. Since then it has travelled to HOTA (Home of the Arts) on the Gold Coast in Queensland, where it delighted audiences in the expansive grassy grounds. In June 2022 Roll will returned to western Sydney for it's final iteration in Epping, for the project ‘Stepping through Epping’ commissioned by the City of Parramatta Council.

The Roll project is part Nadia Odlum’s broader interest in ‘play’ in contemporary art, and in urban space. Play is an essential form of human behaviour, and a vital component of civic interaction. Though play is widely recognised as being essential to children, rich opportunities for play are under-provided for in Australian cities. Play is also vital to adult life, holding powerful potential to facilitate intergenerational and intercultural encounter marked by curiosity and positive exchange.

Roll was first installed collaboratively by Nadia Odlum and her brother Jonathan. In subsequent installs, a select team of artists creates the work by following a set of ‘game instructions’ (pictured below), which encourage their own experimentation and play in the making process.

Video by Ankit Mishra.