This interactive lighting installation was located in First Fleet Park at The Rocks, near Circular Quay, during the Vivid Sydney festival. "Immersion" was created by Australia's Martin Bevz and Kathryn Clifton. People were able to move around the LED tube lighting, reflecting their movement through the installation via a live video relay of still and dynamic images.
"Sydney Ice Bear" was an ice sculpture of a male polar bear that was located in Customs House Square. It was carved by British sculptor Mark Coreth for World Environment Day to highlight the human impact on our environment and to create awareness of climate change. This happened to coincide with the Vivid Sydney festival, so it had quite a spectacular backdrop at night with the light projections on Customs House that I featured yesterday. I featured some daytime shots of the sculpture here.
These light projections on Customs House at Circular Quay were displayed during the Vivid Sydney festival. "Unfamiliar Customs" was created by The Electric Canvas, transforming this sandstone building's facade with a series of 3D-mapped animation sequences. The projections both celebrate and sometimes mock the iconic architecture in a playful creation reflecting its 160 years standing on the shore of Sydney Harbour.
The historic Moore Stairs link Macquarie Street with the Circular Quay foreshore, between two blocks of Bennelong Apartments. “Hopscotch” by Germany’s Fiona Venn and Reinhard Germar was an interactive installation for the Vivid Sydney festival. People were able to hop up and down the stairs and create a rainbow at night that displayed the full colour spectrum of light from violet blue to deep red. Precise switching and the latest sensor technology saved energy by providing light only where it was needed but also proved a challenge to photograph as many colours as possible.
This artwork near the water's edge of Campbells Cove at The Rocks, with a spectacular backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was installed for the Vivid Sydney festival. "Ember", created by Joe Snell was a 30 metre long glowing installation that pulsates between red and orange. It evokes the beauty of dying embers and the danger in the potential of an 'ember attack' that is synonymous with Australian bush fires. It tantalises with its warm ambience on a winter's night, drawing you closer to touch the glowing coals. It also doubled up as a bench for the audience of the Fire Dance performance every hour.
This animated sculpture was suspended above the Circular Quay foreshore at the Overseas Passenger Terminal for the Vivid Sydney festival. “The Light Wheel” was created by Australia’s Andre Kecskes and Mark Hammer. It is a play on the sun as the source of light, with LED lamps creating a mass of moving patterns which cycle through the colour spectrum with pulses and ripples throughout the evening. The sculpture runs entirely off one 10 amp outlet.
These artworks, located around Circular Quay and at The Rocks, were part of the Vivid Sydney festival. "Melody" (top) was created by Singapore's Sun Yu-Li. This free flowing ribbon form, beams light from inside its perforated stainless steel sculptural frame. It implies the rhyme of Sydney Harbour in Circular Quay and the music emanating from the Sydney Opera House as part of the magical precinct you are located in. "aLf" or "artificial Light form" (bottom) was created by Australia's Victoria Bolton, Kim Nguyen Ngoc, Catherine Kuok, Guy Hanson. It is described as an artificial biomorphic entity that glows when you physically interact with him. He sleeps with a subdued blue pulse when he feels alone and when awakened by your presence engages in a visual conversation with a boisterous red pulse.
These artworks, located around Circular Quay and at The Rocks, were part of the Vivid Sydney festival. "Light Wave Action" (above) was designed by Haron Robson’s lightmatters team in Australia in collaboration with Bow Jaruwangsanti from Thailand, Kristy Philp from Fiji, Christa Van Zoeren from the Netherlands. Visitors could wander through this wave-like sculpture for a multi-sensory experience, inspired by nature, reflecting the subtle colour of twilight skies and paying homage to the sea – representing nature's power in the movement and formation of waves. "School" (below) designed by Jon Voss of Australia was a large group of fish seemingly swimming in a continuous circle of variable light through the limbs of a tree. Each fish gives off a soft glow intensified by the rough-cut edges of its skeletal form. Individually, they emit a low light but together as a school, the light is intensified. It imitates the shimmering light and movement of schooling fish but floating here in an urban environment.
This row of heritage terrace houses in George Street at The Rocks was lit up for the Vivid Sydney festival. "The Georges" was a design by Gordon Watson, using waves of colour to highlight both the diversity of the residents who lived here over the years and the ever changing population as older residents move on and new dwellers arrive.
This heritage building lit up for the Vivid Sydney festival was the Officers House in colonial days. The "Officers House" design was created by Vessi Ivanova and Thomas Stevens from Australia. The building was painted with dynamic light colours inside and outside, which constantly changed.
The Sydney Opera House is illuminated every year for the Vivid Sydney festival. This year's "Lighting the Sails" was created by a team from France called Superbien. These designs were rather more difficult to photograph than in previous years because they were so animated.
This show on the wharves around Campbells Cove at The Rocks was a spectacle of dancing fire and music, during the Vivid Sydney festival. "FireDance" was created by Australian pyrotechnics company Howard & Sons, which has produced some of the world's most memorable fireworks shows since 1922. The show involved 40 firejets, that flare and flame in a choreographed balletic performance to the Stravinsky's classical "Firebird Suite" and Katy Perry's pop hit "Firework", remixed by Peewee Ferris.
