Arts House to Showcase Rel Pham's WHEN YOUR NUMBER'S UP in February

Arts House will reimagine the downstairs Supper Room at North Melbourne Town Hall to present Rel Pham's free video installation When Your Number's Up.  When Your Number's Up explores chance, systems and personal meaning by blending humour with quiet intensity. The work invites viewers to reflect on luck, inevitability and the unseen forces that shape everyday life, unfolding in a way that rewards curiosity and close attention. 

“This work is about how people find meaning in chaos. It's about our desire to believe, whether in divination or machine learning, and how those beliefs can both comfort and trap us,” explained Pham. 

The transformation of the Supper Room marks a shift for Arts House, broadening its artistic offer, deepening audience engagement and creating new opportunities for artists to experiment. 

Arts House Head of Programming Naomi Velaphi said the new approach rethinks how people use the building and presents digital-based works. 

“The flexible Supper Room space will allow our visitors to drop in at any time, move freely between works and experience video and screen-based installations, while also allowing us to schedule other activities from time to time,” said Velaphi. 

“It feels fitting to screen this work in the new Supper Room environment, where the layout and projection setup encourage audiences to pause, explore and experience the installation on their own terms,” said Pham. 

When Your Number's Up will launch at Arts House's Neighbourhood Gathering, a free public event bringing artists, audiences and community together to learn more about the upcoming program.