Woodhead will be colouring The Rocks precinct in Sydney with an extraordinary light installation as part of Vivid Sydney 2011.
At the official media launch this morning, Vivid Sydney Executive Producer Ignatius Jones announced the line up, of which Woodhead is the only Architecture & Design company in Australia to have been selected to present.
As the largest festival of light, music and ideas in the Southern Hempishere, Vivid Sydney is a major celebration of the Sydney Design Community of which Woodhead is a major contributor. Ignatius Jones commented “We are working with our best and brightest talents in the creative industries, and inviting international creative minds to Sydney to show off what they can do, to swap ideas and most importantly reach out to the public and electrify us with their creations.”
Vivid Sydney will magically transform the city into a spectacular canvas of light, music and ideas. From giant light sculptures of illumiated jellyfish and erupting fire installations in Sydney Harbour, to exclusive international music performances and the stunning 3D illumination of the Sydney Opera House Sails, Vivid will transform Sydney once again from 27 May – 13 June 2011.
The Woodhead installation was created by wa(A)ve (Woodhead Advanced Architecture and Virtual Environments). wa(A)ve is a core research team that supports Woodhead projects across all portfolios. It brings together theory, technology and material exploration to the design process. It operates as a ‘think tank’ of collective minds, with team members from each of the seven Woodhead studios.
Introducing aLf:
aLf: is an artificial biomorphic installation inspired by symbiotic nature of the bluebottle (Physalia physalis). The bluebottle is made up of many minute individuals called zooids that are physiologically integrated in at way that they are incapable of independent survival.
aLf: engages in a symbiotic relationship with the public and acts as a catalyst for the activation of public space. The public can interact, touch and feel aLf, and it’s vibrant colours will morph and change with each individual and subsequent interaction, acting though the relationship of people to public space.
aLf: is digitally designed and fabricated from recyclable resin panels, taking advantage of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machining to maximise efficiency and minimise material waste. It is lit using an array of energy-efficient LEDs controlled by motion sensors.
aLf: was created as a collaboration between Woodhead Sydney Architects Catherine Kuok, Victoria Bolton, designer Kim Nguyen Ngoc, Guy Hanson as well as Steve Brims from Umow Lai. The project is sponsored by Woodhead, Umow Lai, Osram and Waterman.
aLf: is one of 24 sculptures displayed in The Rocks curated by Architectural-Lighting designer Mary-Anne Kyriakou, whose light art and music installations have been exhibited internationally. The Sydney Opera House will once again be the focal point of the festival with Vivid LIVE, an incredible music program of local and international artists curated by Stephen ‘Pav’ Pavolic of Modular, who has chosen the incredible French-based digital projection artists Superbien to light the sails.
A blog has been set up to follow the evolution of aLf: from concept to completion:
http://artificiallightform.wordpress.com/
Vivid Sydney is one of five signature events on the NSW Events Calendar developed by Events NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
The full Vivid Sydney program is available at http://www.vividsydney.com
