

When the Australian winter begins in late May, Vivid Sydney illuminates Sydney harbor with dazzling light installations. Vivid Sydney is an outdoor festival that attracts people from all over the world with three weeks of music, art, and immersive light shows.
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This year, the organization Artists in Motion transformed the Sydney Opera House into an animated canvas. During the 15-minute projection called Lighting the Sails, images by six contemporary First Nations artists came to life on the Opera House’s exterior.
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In this projection, the artist uses pattern and flat color to create a series of mesmerizing diamond shapes.
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The artist who designed this projection uses repeated hash marks, lines, and dots to render the figure’s clothing and headdress. The artist crops the figure differently on each sail to highlight particular features.
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The artist who created this projection incorporates stylized images from nature. The artist doesn’t worry about making the birds and trees realistic. Instead, he or she embraces a personal style. The artist places the birds and trees in the foreground and red stripes in the background. This technique gives the sails a sense of depth.
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This artwork energizes the harbor. Do the shapes and colors remind you of anything you’ve seen in nature?
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The festival also features monumental light sculptures.
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The designers of these turtle sculptures use contour lines to emphasize the turtles’ forms.
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This light installation was part of the Garden of Light display in Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardens. The little lights on the ground bathe the whole tree in a fluorescent pink glow.
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Tall, arched windows inspire the artist who designed The Cathedral of Light. This tunnel of golden lights invites visitors to come out of the dark and explore the festival.
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