by Lynne Blundell…
26 May – Smart Light Sydney kicked off with Brian Eno’s spectacular light show on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
Eno’s Lighting the Sails is part of Light Walk, a series of light art sculptures, interactive and performance-based art displays from local and international design luminaries and artists which celebrate sustainable low-energy lighting design and innovation.
As part of a switch-off campaign in conjunction with the Property Council of Australia, Smart Light Sydney will turn off more power on the grid than it uses.
The switch-off lights campaign, incorporating some of the major properties located within the Light Walk precinct, will offset the low levels of energy being used by the Light Walk’s installations to ensure the event creates a minimal environmental impact.
Three of the installations on the Light Walk use no new energy at all, while some others use solar and pedal-power. Tree and Bench on Observatory Hill will use less energy than it takes to cook a piece of toast and Human Flags in The Rocks less power than it takes to boil a kettle.
Conceived by Sydney born lighting designer and composer, Mary-Anne Kyriakou, the Smart Light Sydney aims to present new ideas for light art and architectural lighting in city environments, including more sustainable lighting technologies.
Many of these technologies can reduce energy use, cut down on intrusive light to the night sky and are recyclable, says Kyriakou.
