The Billabong

The installation needed to be a beacon to visitors drawing them to the object and also into the space when each of the 5 stories were activated on the inside begun. It needed to appear as an art installation from the outside and a fully immersive experience on the inside. The projected surface needed to be on the inside and also on the outside so visitors. Our challenge was also to create a Billabong event that would present a WOW to new audiences while also satisfying the expectations of our client who had very set ideas that were not contemporary.

After much research, experimentation and prototyping, Arterial designed a 4 meter curtain of plastic rods that were filled with a solution/material that allowed the projection to penetrate the surface of the curtain and appear on both sides of the surface in full resolution on both sides. The ceiling was reflective Barasol and the floor highly polished resin which created a reflection of the projection that was appeared in high acuity for approximately 12 meters. This solution allowed for projectors to remain on the outside of the curtain so that the inside visual experience was seamless and had no visual interruption.

This immersive experience tells the stories of land and environmental phenomena.⠀Natural events like giant swelling dust storms, thick flocks of budgerigars, indigenous stories of the creation of Opal, open up and surround the viewer in a fully choreographed sequence of motion 3D graphics. The visuals pulsed with the soundscape creating a sympathy of movement and sound. The impact of this Art Installation was firstly on the viewer but most recently has won 9 awards in 5 Counties.

The Billabong featured 5 stories. Each story was 3 minutes long and ran 12 minutes apart. In it's resting state, the Billabong sat as a blue shimmering jewel. A body of water than held mythologies and stories of natural events that were all extraordinary and remarkable. Stories of our land and of this place.