VIVID Randomness 2015 (6)

Sydney May – June 2015 (15 photos). This is part 6 of 9 of my VIVID Sydney 2015 series.

We now leave Customs House, Enchanted Sydney, the enchanted forest and the enchanting elves, and take the short walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Along the way…

Affinity by amigo & amigo + S1T2 is a large-scale lighting installation that attempts to depict the complexity and connectivity of the human brain. Participants step within an intricate web of interconnected orbs representing neurons in the brain. When stimulated by touch, the orbs set-up a striking display of sound and light, representing the rapid-fire transmission of messages between neurons. The sculpture explores the effects of Alzheimer’s on our memories within this environment. As participants touch each globe, light streams flow outwards into the sculpture and link to another orb.

Wave Chandelier by Mark Dyson and Oliver Tannerre imagines the structure of the traditional ornate chandelier but as a wave-like, flowing form that throws illuminated lines of light through space. The organic shape of the chandelier is realised as a suspended, latticed metal superstructure, underneath which lines of light gently pulsate. When seen from a distance Wave Chandelier presents as a series of flowing waves of light, colour and form.

Space Folding by Zina Kaye is a towering cylinder that morphs into multi-coloured patterns of light and sound in response to real-time flight data from Sydney airspace. The installation maps the progress of planes leaving and coming into Sydney, and audiences follow their progress through the rhythmic movements of colour and data that race around the structure. Every take-off, landing and plane passing overhead simultaneously augments the sequence of light and sound, building a never-repeating pattern. Headsets allow the audience to hear the data driven generated soundtrack while being simultaneously transported by the lights.

And so we arrive at the Museum of Contemporary Art which features its own sight and sound display yearly.

This year, Mechanised Colour Assemblage by Rebecca Bauman / Danny Rose / Paola Ciucci / Lucia Frigola / Cédric Péri / Emanuele De Raymondi transforms the MCA façade into a series of sound and colour ‘machines’ that create a continuously morphing listening and viewing experience.

The audience is plunged into a universe where voices and colours blend together to become a single element. The machines change colour and shape, drawing on a variety of phenomena entering the space around the MCA.

The installation uses 3D-mapping to project the machine images onto the MCA façade. This lends ‘spatiality’ to the experience – delivering single, mobile and multiple sources of sound, which can move within the location. The speakers are positioned in the MCA courtyard, forming a large rectangle that surrounds the audience and defines the listening space. The soundtrack is an original composition by Emanuele de Raymondi.

Regarding photography at VIVID, there are certain off peak times and off peak days. This can greatly affect the character of your photos, depending on if you wish to capture the atmosphere of the event, or just concentrate on the lights. Compare the photo above to the one below. The tower clock reveals all.

For most people, Winter is the off season for visiting Sydney. I’ve long suspected VIVID was a clever trick to get people to visit Sydney in Winter and go out into the cold night air. I suspect I’m right.

For the next part of this series, we leave the main arena of VIVID and go west to Darling Harbour and Pyrmont.

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This is part 6 of my 9 part VIVID Sydney 2015 series.

All my photography from this and previous years of VIVID Sydney going back to 2012 can be found here.