Robe is supporting UK based Light Artist and Creative Director of Dark Art London, Simon Brockwell at the 2014 Vivid Festival of Music, Light & Ideas in Sydney, Australia, in the realisation of his bold, innovative light sculpture, ‘Sky Flower’.
Robe is working in close collaboration with its Australian distributor The ULA Group and leading Australian Robe rental partner Elite Sound & Lighting from Canberra to supply and coordinate the equipment for Simon’s interactive installation which can be experienced live between the 23rd May and 9th June.
Sky Flower is one of two installations at a new site for the festival in Martin Place, right at the core of Sydney´s buzzing CBD, adjacent to the Cenotaph and also near to Channel 7’s downtown TV studio, so it will attract a huge amount of attention.
The equipment being utilised by Simon includes 1 x Robe MMX Blade, four 600E Beams, four LEDWash 1200s, eight LEDBeam 100s and eight Pointes – all from Robe’s ROBIN Series, plus four CitySkape Xtremes.
The Pointes are right at the heart of the work. Simon was inspired after using Pointes on a rooftop installation in Shoreditch, London, at the end of last year. He was super-impressed by their aerial impact, and this triggered his idea for Sky Flower where the eight Pointes form the petals of the flower … and the MMX Blade is the stamen in the middle.
The installation will have an 80 square metre artificial grass floor and will be set to several consecutive music tracks – with the lights effectively being the performers on the stage. It is designed to trigger a sense of anticipation and interest when seen from afar … and a sense of fascination with the different textures, colours, qualities and layering of lights which are appreciated with closer viewing.
Robe first became involved in Vivid Sydney last year when they provided a student bursary for Simon to take an assistant to the event where he presented ‘The Nocturnal Pianola’.
This year, Sky Flower is specifically designed around Robe’s equipment.
Simon Brockwell explains his vision behind the project: “As a lighting designer I see lighting as a very important element in visual art. Being able to set moods or enhance emotions is what I will be trying to do in Sky Flower, which is a visual manifestation of thoughts and inspired by the musical accompaniment. I felt that layers of light were very important, which is why I have chosen a range of different Robe fixture with which to work. They all look great individually, but combined … they become stunning. I am always excited to use Robe lights in my work, and specially the ROBIN Pointe, which in my opinion the best automated lighting fixture available right now.”
Robe s.r.o’s CEO Josef Valchar comments, “We’re delighted to be assisting Simon’s creativity again. It is really important to see individuals using the medium of lighting in fresh, different and exciting ways to communicate and engage with others. This is also a dynamic aspect of ‘art’ which can appeal to absolutely everyone”.
Cuono Biviano, MD of the ULA Group comments, “It is with great pleasure and anticipation that we can support Simon and his unique vision and initiative of transforming light into art and excite new senses in the many millions who will experience Vivid from all over the globe. It is an amazing event that shows the world how powerful creative lighting can be. I would like to thank Darren and all of his team at Elite for partnering with ULA and Robe in supporting Simon and his endeavors.”
Elite Sound & Lighting were the first rental company in Australia to purchase Pointes from ULA after the product was launched last year, so it is fitting that they are proactively contributing to this project.
Their CEO Darren Russell says “When asked by Robe and ULA Group to partner on this, we were all too happy to help our Robe family out and be involved in this exciting event. With Robe being our number one moving light brand of choice, we are always excited to see the products being used in different creative ways that can push boundaries and show just how fantastic, versatile and market leading the products really are”.
Vivid Sydney takes place all over the city after dark from 23 May – 9 June 2014
Photos: Brett Hemmings
