Spinifex and artist Claudia Nicholson create new immersive projection experience for Vivid Sydney

Spinifex has collaborated with Colombian-born, Sydney-based artist Claudia Nicholson to create an emotionally charged, immersive projection-mapped digital experience that will spring to life on the façade of the MCA for Vivid Sydney.

Let Me Down is an animated cycle of creation, destruction and regeneration, accompanied by music from Adelaide-based producer Lonelyspeck. The result is a romantic homage to Colombia and the rich cultural traditions Nicholson engages with through her work, remixing them with pop culture references and brand identities to explore her complex transnational heritage.

The commissioned piece adapts four of Nicholson’s artworks, three ‘sawdust carpets’ known as alfombras de aserrín and a floral arrangement known as a silleta. In honour of traditional processional sawdust carpets, Nicholson’s large-scale, brightly coloured and ephemeral alfombras de aserrín are disrupted and reconfigured through dance. The silleta draws inspiration from the Medellin flower festival in which large flower arrangements are carried on the backs of participants.

Thomas Dicker, creative lead at Spinifex said of staying true to the essence of the original works: “Bringing Claudia’s vision to life for Vivid 2019 has been a highly collaborative, richly rewarding experience. The final piece for the MCA has emerged as a unique and exciting take on Claudia’s art, which we hope will delight and engage the millions that attend Vivid.”

Says Melissa Lee, senior producer, Spinifex: “We are honoured to collaborate with such a highly regarded artist. The resulting work is a cross-pollination of creative ideas, genres, and approaches, collaboratively exploring and re-interpreting the organic nature of Claudia’s sawdust carpets and floral arrangements.”

Says Nicholson: “I have been wanting to incorporate animation into my practice for a while now so I feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to collaborate with Spinifex. The team has been so generous taking me through this unfamiliar creative process.”

Spinifex has worked with Destination NSW and leading artists to create ground-breaking projections for Vivid Sydney for the past nine years. The MCA is lighting up with Let Me Down from 6pm-11pm every night from now until Saturday 15 June.

For more, please go to:
https://www.vividsydney.com/event/light/let-me-down

‘Let Me Down’ – MCA Projection
Artists: Claudia Nicholson / Spinifex / Lonelyspeck
Thomas Dicker (Creative Lead, Spinifex)
Prema Bhakti Weir (Animator, Spinifex)
Melissa Lee (Senior Producer, Spinifex)

Image Credit: Destination NSW