Chinese-American artist Andrew Thomas Huang will showcase five Australian floral gems, including the New South Wales Waratah, on the Sails of the Sydney Opera House during Vivid Sydney.
LA-based artist Huang’s site-specific artwork, Austral Flora Ballet, will animate the World-Heritage Sails with a lush homage to Australia’s native flora and the intersection of human movement with nature.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said the Lighting of the Sails is a hallmark of Vivid Sydney each year.
“Vivid Sydney attracts millions of people to the Harbour City in Winter, and international guests and locals alike are always moved by the grandeur and beauty of the unique projections on the Sails of the Sydney Opera House,” Mr Ayres said.
“This year we are excited to see the work of experimental filmmaker and animator Andrew Thomas Huang – Austral Flora Ballet – which will combine bodies, objects and nature in a dynamic, metamorphic design.
“In 2018 Vivid Sydney welcomed 2.25 million visitors, who generated almost $173 million in tourism related expenditure for NSW, while the reach of the festival through traditional and social media is enormous. There’s no doubt we’ll see Austral Flora Ballet shared worldwide in 2019.”
Huang said it is a dream to create work for one of the world’s most iconic landmarks.
“Austral Flora Ballet features shapes, colours and textures of native Australian flowers brought to life by kinetic human movement. By drawing connections between dance and native plants, this work underscores the inextricable link between the human body and nature,” Mr Huang said.
Vivid Sydney will take place from Friday 24 May to Saturday 15 June in Sydney.
