Celestial Pancake is a suspended audio-visual installation that visitors can walk under. It is composed of a four-meter radius ‘ceiling’ with...

Celestial Pancake

Location:

Circular Quay
2000 NSW
Australia

Image. A huge disc formed of hundreds of tiny lights hangs high overhead. In response to the voices and sounds made by visitors, glowing colour washes across the canopy of concentric circles, then spirals into its centre. The louder the sounds of the visitors, the more vibrant the display.

Access and Inclusion

  • Audio Described - Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Trained audio describers give live, objective, verbal descriptions.
  • Wheelchair Accessible - Access to the venue is suitable for wheelchairs (toilets, ramps/lifts etc.) and designated wheelchair spaces are available.

Event Details

Artists:
UNSW Sydney and CREATE NSW Inc: Dylan Sanusi-Goh (Australia) / Josh Sun (Australia) / Dylan Goh (Australia) / Aly Virani (Australia) / Mahima Mandal (Australia) / Prithvi Guntha (India) / Matthew Payor (Australia) / Michael Wu (Australia) / Luke Jackson (Australia) / Ryley Edwards (Australia) / Genevieve Collier (Australia)

Collaborators:
Anthony Feizi-Sobbi (Australia) / Daniel Wong (Australia) / Taiyue Tan (Australia) / Teresa Feng (Australia) / Jonathan Hribar (Australia) / Nathalie Tun Barreto (Portugal) / Bettina Zhang (Australia) / Jasmine Tan (Australia) / Nishant Pandav (India) / Christopher Wang (Australia)

Celestial Pancake is a suspended audio-visual installation that visitors can walk under. It is composed of a four-meter radius ‘ceiling’ with fiber optics and an evolving four-point soundtrack. From afar, the whole terminal is bathed in washes of light, drawing people in and encouraging them to reflectively pause. Set to alternating colour palettes inspired by space phenomenon that enchanted us as kids, the installation transports a slice of the sky and brings it to us on the ground.

Underneath the ‘pancake’, audiences are entranced by sweeping waves of light, dancing wisps and exploding stars that form a fantastical narrative. Woven into the installation are ethereal and dramatic compositions triggered by and generated in real time alongside the lights. These soundscapes envelop audiences and meld with the lighting transitions to create an emotional, synesthetic effect.

This colossal, floating ‘pancake’ does not make sense, and nor does it have to. As kids, we press our faces to car windows to gaze in awe at the vast, night sky. Its fiery stars inspire us to venture out into the undiscovered world beyond our cribs. As adults we lose this drive. Tapping back into this primal emotion, Celestial Pancake draws out our wonder-fuelled inner-child.

Country represented by installation: Australia

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Audio Description

Access and Inclusion

  • Audio Described - Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Trained audio describers give live, objective, verbal descriptions.
  • Wheelchair Accessible - Access to the venue is suitable for wheelchairs (toilets, ramps/lifts etc.) and designated wheelchair spaces are available.