“We are one, but we are many  And from all the lands on earth we come  We'll share a dream and sing with one voice  I am, you are...

We are one

Location:

Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
2000 NSW
Australia

Image. Multicoloured letters hang in a clear-sided shipping container. When viewed through the container’s long sides, they form the word ‘MANY’. When viewed from the container’s narrow ends, the letters form the numeral ‘1’. Their glow casts a rainbow spectrum across the container’s roof and floorWe are one - Vivid Light 2019

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:
Technical Alliance: Max Mackenzie (Australia) / Aaron Elliot (Australia) / Sean Lenihan (Australia)

“We are one, but we are many 
And from all the lands on earth we come 
We'll share a dream and sing with one voice 
I am, you are, we are Australian” – The Seekers

A cultural metaphor mixing colour and perspective,We Are One invites visitors to explore the importance of different points of view. Seen from the side and front, this dual experience of supersize letters rigged in a space cube encourages us to respect Australia’s multicultural roots and future.

By changing their physical standpoint, visitors see not just the cumulative end product but the ‘MANY’ beams, angles and colours needed to achieve the ‘1’. Australia’s diversity – formed from our different cultures, colours, tastes and philosophies – is our strength. Akin to biodiversity, which is thought essential for long-term survival on earth and which is reflected across Australia’s incredible biosphere, cultural diversity inspires creativity and innovation, and drives our boundless country forward.

We Are One celebrates both our diversity and our unity in a single interactive shipping container, provoking reflection upon the relationship between the two.

The installation was designed by Max Mackenzie, Aaron Eliot and Sean Lenihan, and built by Australian production house Technical Alliance. The deceptively simple installation requires extremely precise positioning of lights and mirrors to produce the two words, which is conceptualised using a combination of CAD and VR software.

 

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.