Media Release: New NFSA Installation Inferno by Mikaela Stafford Blurs the Line Between Physical and Digital Worlds

Published Wednesday 23 July 

The world premiere of Inferno, an immersive free installation by internationally exhibiting Australian artist Mikaela Stafford, will take place at the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra from 22 August.   

The epic new digital installation blends epic-scale motion graphics, kinetic sculpture and dynamic lighting with an original soundscape by electronic composer Kate Durman, conjuring a hyper-real, sci-fi-infused world where identity, memory and matter collide. The NFSA’s first commissioned artwork, Inferno was created by Stafford following an artist residency at the Archive earlier this year.  

Influenced by club culture, hyperrealism, early cinema, and Japanese silk painting, Inferno invites audiences into a richly textured and enveloping space, greeting them with a large tome inscribed with otherworldly ‘epic poetry scrawl.’  This element references Dante’s Inferno, itself an epic narrative poem. At Inferno's centre is a large resin sculpture that appears to ooze from a monumental 12-metre digital screen, anchoring a protagonist’s metaphysical journey through a shifting, tech-saturated landscape amid themes of uncertainty, reflection, and renewal.  Visitors move through layered digital visuals and multidimensional sound. They join the protagonist on a dreamlike descent which is disorienting, yet ultimately hopeful. 

While Inferno is inspired by technological oversaturation and themes of spiritual crisis, it ultimately leans toward optimism. Mikaela Stafford explains, ‘The essence of the work is hopeful; it’s about navigating out of this inferno-like space.’ 

Inferno offers no easy resolution in a world that feels increasingly unstable, but it does extend the possibility of starting again. ‘It’s a world where memory and matter are intertwined,’ she says. “Where identity is never fixed — but always in motion.’ 

‘The combination of the soundscape (presented in a multidimensional way) to accompany Mikaela’s rich visuals and physical sculptures will allow the audience to feel like they are fully immersed in the whole environment,’ says electronic composer Kate Durman.  

‘Stafford constructs a cyber-surreal, dreamlike scape that is eerie, beautiful, techno-infused, and sublime all at once. It’s as if she’s ripped open a digital portal to a hyperreal realm,’ says Tara Marynowsky, Senior Curator at the National Film and Sound Archive.  

Key Dates 
Media Preview | Thursday 21 August, 5–6 pm | RSVP via email comms@nfsa.gov.au   
Installation open daily 10 am – 4 pm, from 22 August until 16 November 2025.   

Tickets: free, no booking required 

Available for interview 
Mikaela Stafford | Artist 
Kate Durman | Composer and Sound Designer 
Tara Marynowsky | Senior Curator at the NFSA 
Aidan Delaney | Manager Programs & Visitor Experience at the NFSA 

 
Media enquiries and interview requests:  
Irina Agaronyan | Communications Specialist 
0439 382 064 | Irina.Agaronyan@nfsa.gov.au 

📷 Download images via Dropbox.   

About the artist (pictured left) 
Mikaela Stafford is an international Australian artist working across motion graphics, sculpture, and installation. Her work explores worldbuilding, speculative futures and the complex relationships between humans, technology, and nature.   

In 2022, Stafford created visuals for MECCA’s dynamic national campaign, Future Beautiful. She transformed one of her animated works into a striking four-meter-high sculpture for the PITCH Music & Arts Festival and designed bespoke artwork for Jamsheed Wines. Mikaela studied BA (hons) Visual Art at Sydney College of the Arts and MA Art in Public Spaces at RMIT. She has created work for Art Projects Australia and Common Ground, two organisations that champion the visibility and representation of First Nations people and artists with intellectual disabilities. 

About the composer (pictured right) 
Kate Durman is a composer, sound designer, and music producer based in Naarm/Melbourne, known for crafting immersive sonic worlds that balance the ethereal with the visceral. A key figure in Melbourne’s electronic music scene, she releases solo work under Purient, blending shimmering astral textures, ominous synths, and hypnotic, club-inflected rhythms. Durman is also one-third of the emotive pop/indie trio Acopia. With a distinctive style that layers ambient atmospheres and dreamlike vocals over restless, skittering beats, she brings a unique sonic identity to a wide range of musical projects.