Light Creatures
Client: An A Blanck Canvas & Adelaide Zoo Collaboration
Date: July 2021
In 2020, we were approached by Adelaide Zoo to create an illuminated activation for the inaugural winter festival ‘Illuminate Adelaide’.
We worked closely with Adelaide Zoo to create something that had not been seen before, something that would intrigue and excite audiences, while creating awareness for endangered animals.
The idea flourished into something organic, memorable, and true to our signature look. It saw us design and build four major large-scale illuminated works complete with soundscapes. Included in this majestic animal wonderland was the Rolling Pandas, the Dreamtime Skink, the Underwater World, and the Towering Giraffes.
The interactive night-time experience- Light Creatures premiered at Adelaide Zoo in July 2021 and ran for four weeks.
The two adorable Panda installations were based on the zoos very own infamous Pandas- Wang Wang and Funi. The 6-metre-high illuminate inflatables were engineered to playfully roll on their backs and oscillate their heads to eat bamboo.
The duo were surrounded by equally surreal clusters of glowing bamboo that was paired to a calming soundscape designed by A Million Things Music, who also designed the impressive and emotive soundscapes for the Towering Giraffes and the Underwater World.
Possibly one of our favourite installations created was the 27-metre-long animatronic skink.
We designed this dreamtime creature with Elizabeth Close, a talented Anangu artist based in Adelaide, and Kaurna and Nurungga man, Jack Buckskin. The Skink tells the story of the creation of woman and the creation of worlds, featuring a emotive soundtrack designed by award-winning creative, Mark Coles Smith.
Elizabeth is an established Contemporary Aboriginal Visual Artist that has spent the past 14 years crafting a dynamic multi-disciplinary artform that she often expresses through mediums such as 2D art, large-scale muralist installations and digital medias. Her unique and vivid works convey her connection to country. She created the art piece that the skink is wrapped in, in collaboration with Jack Buckskin.
Jack Buckskin has been a strong icon in the revitalisation process of Kaurna language, passing on his knowledge and language to future generations of Kaurna people. Jack worked closely with the elders to translate the story of the skink, which had been passed down from generations. This was in fact the first time the Kaurna people’s story of the skink had been interpreted and shared with the public.
This extraordinary piece has an impressive internal lighting design, as well as a mechanical head that continuously moves. This beautiful puppet can operate rain, hail, or shine.
The two giraffes are giant inflatable light installations. Towering into the nights sky at just over 6-metres high, this pair was hand painted using an unusual cross hatch technique that looks incredible when lit.
The smooth and calming lighting design for the giraffes, as well as all the installations were designed and programmed by After Dark Theatre.
The immersive underwater wonderland quickly become a crowd favourite. The interactive and complex piece was made up of ten luminescent winch-controlled jelly fish, five translucent fish that were programmed to create the illusion of swimming through giant colour changing coral, and complete with a large 10 metre glowing anglerfish.
The immersive zone saw people gather in silence, completely enchanted by the serene glowing Jellyfish that calmly floated and danced above their heads.
“Captivating, wondrous and enchanting, in this must-see display” -@adelaidegal
Light Creatures
Client: An A Blanck Canvas & Adelaide Zoo Collaboration
Date: July 2021
In 2020, we were approached by Adelaide Zoo to create an illuminated activation for the inaugural winter festival ‘Illuminate Adelaide’.
We worked closely with Adelaide Zoo to create something that had not been seen before, something that would intrigue and excite audiences, while creating awareness for endangered animals.
The idea flourished into something organic, memorable, and true to our signature look. It saw us design and build four major large-scale illuminated works complete with soundscapes. Included in this majestic animal wonderland was the Rolling Pandas, the Dreamtime Skink, the Underwater World, and the Towering Giraffes.
The interactive night-time experience- Light Creatures premiered at Adelaide Zoo in July 2021 and ran for four weeks.
The two adorable Panda installations were based on the zoos very own infamous Pandas- Wang Wang and Funi. The 6-metre-high illuminate inflatables were engineered to playfully roll on their backs and oscillate their heads to eat bamboo.
The duo were surrounded by equally surreal clusters of glowing bamboo that was paired to a calming soundscape designed by A Million Things Music, who also designed the impressive and emotive soundscapes for the Towering Giraffes and the Underwater World.
Possibly one of our favourite installations created was the 27-metre-long animatronic skink.
We designed this dreamtime creature with Elizabeth Close, a talented Anangu artist based in Adelaide, and Kaurna and Nurungga man, Jack Buckskin. The Skink tells the story of the creation of woman and the creation of worlds, featuring a emotive soundtrack designed by award-winning creative, Mark Coles Smith.
Elizabeth is an established Contemporary Aboriginal Visual Artist that has spent the past 14 years crafting a dynamic multi-disciplinary artform that she often expresses through mediums such as 2D art, large-scale muralist installations and digital medias. Her unique and vivid works convey her connection to country. She created the art piece that the skink is wrapped in, in collaboration with Jack Buckskin.
Jack Buckskin has been a strong icon in the revitalisation process of Kaurna language, passing on his knowledge and language to future generations of Kaurna people. Jack worked closely with the elders to translate the story of the skink, which had been passed down from generations. This was in fact the first time the Kaurna people’s story of the skink had been interpreted and shared with the public.
This extraordinary piece has an impressive internal lighting design, as well as a mechanical head that continuously moves. This beautiful puppet can operate rain, hail, or shine.
The two giraffes are giant inflatable light installations. Towering into the nights sky at just over 6-metres high, this pair was hand painted using an unusual cross hatch technique that looks incredible when lit.
The smooth and calming lighting design for the giraffes, as well as all the installations were designed and programmed by After Dark Theatre.
The immersive underwater wonderland quickly become a crowd favourite. The interactive and complex piece was made up of ten luminescent winch-controlled jelly fish, five translucent fish that were programmed to create the illusion of swimming through giant colour changing coral, and complete with a large 10 metre glowing anglerfish.
The immersive zone saw people gather in silence, completely enchanted by the serene glowing Jellyfish that calmly floated and danced above their heads.
“Captivating, wondrous and enchanting, in this must-see display” -@adelaidegal