Docklands car exhibited

Docklands’ FR-1 concept car will feature in a major exhibition opening at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) this month.

Shifting Gear: Design, Innovation and the Australian Car will feature Australia’s most iconic vehicles, alongside a collection of photographs, models, sketches, illustrations and archival material.

The Brian Tanti-designed concept car was developed in Docklands and is one of the 23 cars to be displayed at the exhibition, which runs from March 6 to July 12.

Director of the RMIT Design Archives and guest curator of the exhibition, Harriet Edquist, said she became interested in the FR-1 concept car because Mr Tanti was a master coach builder and coach building was one of the themes of the exhibition.

“The fact that this skill still survives through Brian is quite astonishing,” Ms Edquist said.

“I think people will love it (the concept car) because it shows cars are still being designed and thought about in new ways by individuals,” Ms Edquist said.

Mr Tanti said it would be interesting to see people’s reaction to the concept car at the exhibition.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to gain an understanding of what happens in the design process,” Mr Tanti said.

“They’re objects of art and the disciplines being applied are a mix of art and science.”

Mr Tanti has also recently been involved in documentary series, which looks at the lives and work of people living in various cities around the world.

The five-part series Cities by the Sea is being produced for ARTE, a public TV network that broadcasts in Germany and France.

Melbourne, Marseille, Hamburg, Hong Kong and St Petersburg all feature in the series.

Mr Tanti will feature in the Melbourne episode and said the documentary would look at the relationship between the city and the water.

“I talk about the connections between the museum, the school and the workshop, about mentoring and what it means to work with your hand in the modern age,” Mr Tanti said.

The series is expected to begin airing in Europe around April or May this year.