At PICA we recognise that we are situated within the unceded lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation. We pay our respects and offer our gratitude to Elders past and present. We acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the importance of their care and continued connection to culture, community and Country.

Always was, always will be.

Galleries are open 12–5pm. Our exhibitions are always free.

boorda yeyi

Intensive Mentorship: Open Studio  

Intensive Mentorship: Open Studio  

Step into PICA for an extended Open Studio and encounter the immersive artwork prototypes from this year’s boorda yeyi Intensive Mentorship artists – shared with the public for the first time. 

Explore each artist’s proof-of-concept, experience the work in situ and speak directly with the artists about their work. Then stay for an in-conversation with the boorda yeyi producer, lead artists, technical collaborators and industry mentors, unpacking the prototyping journey – from ideation through to practical execution – and why cross-disciplinary collaboration matters when working with emergent technologies. 

Emerald Lay’s prototype, Miii (မီး), is an interactive installation exploring the artist’s Burmese-Australian diasporic experience through the intersection of traditional craft, mythology, and contemporary digital technology.

James McMillan will present a prototype of Deep Map Cruising, a locative audio AR work that explores male same-sex cruising across Boorloo beat sites. 

Ken Meyer will present SIGNAL/NOISE, an immersive VR/AR prototype exploring the fragmentation of self in a networked world where participants encounter a digital version of their body entangled within invisible electromagnetic fields. 

Schedule: 
2–3pm: Open Studio  
3–4:30pm: Artist Talks  

Artists, industry and creative technologists with an interest in interactive, experimental, immersive and collaborative artistic practice and curating new and mixed media methodologies are encouraged to attend. Register via the form below.

Learn more about the boorda yeyi program and the Intensive Mentorship teams at boorda-yeyi.org.au.

This event is fully booked. Keep up to date on the boorda yeyi program by joining the mailing list.

About the artists

Emerald Lay is a multidisciplinary artist of Burmese heritage based in Perth/Boorloo, working across visual art and immersive media. Her practice explores diasporic identity, cultural memory and the tension between tradition and modernisation. Lay works across porcelain painting, oil painting and drawing, alongside interactive technologies, to create layered, experiential works that bridge the digital and physical. With a background in UX/UI design, her work is driven by an interest in how interaction and storytelling can foster empathy, inviting audiences to engage more deeply with perspectives beyond their own. Lay is particularly interested in creating intimate, multisensory experiences that explore the space between what is seen, felt and remembered.

James McMillan is a WA-based performance maker. He is currently completing a PhD at WAAPA researching the socio-spatial dynamics of local cruising sites through performance, deep mapping and audio augmented reality. Recently McMillan undertook a 6-week residency through the City of Albany developing locative sound work Out Here, was an artist in the 2024 Perth Festival Lab and co-created Mi-Meme a part of the 2023 Prague Quadrennial.

Ken Meyer is a German-born artist of German/Japanese descent, working across digital and physical mediums. With a background in graphic design and photography, his practice integrates digital media, sculpture, projection, light and sound to create immersive, contemplative installations. Meyer’s latest work Where the Light Rests was presented as part of the Fremantle Biennale 2025: Sanctuary program. He is currently developing new works that merge light and sound into interactive environments, exploring their relationship to our inner worlds. By amplifying these interactions through technology to create immersive spaces, Meyer seeks to create experiences that challenge the ways in which we currently engage with, and view, the world.

Supporters

PICA would like to thank the boorda yeyi Founding Patron The Ian Potter Foundation, Principal Patrons Feilman Foundation and Lotterywest and, Touring Partner ART ON THE MOVE.