Light Cycles - Illuminate Adelaide

July 18th, 2021

Light Cycles is one of the flagship events of Illuminate Adelaide, and has been created by Montreal-based multimedia studio Moment Factory. The light and sound installations that entrance as you wander the lit path through the darkness are tailored to specific parts of the gardens. The bamboo garden becomes this wondrous spectacle of dancing light on the densely packed bamboo stalks. Mesmerising beams of light dance and bounce of trees on the other side of the lake in a hypnotic, wondrous spectacle. Elsewhere a myriad of twinkling lights gives the effect of wandering through vast open fields. And the beautiful Victorian glass (Palm House) seemed like it has been sitting there for a hundred plus years just waiting for Light Cycles to realise its full potential.

Each installation is accompanied by soundscapes that are part music, part sound effects. They tantalise as you draw near the next installation and perfectly complement the visual fantasies on offer.

It was a brilliant decision to hold this event in winter. OK – so a few nights may be lost to poor weather – but dragging yourself out into the cold winter night makes you somehow appreciate the whole experience even more. The cold no longer matters as you’re transported to a world of fantasy and wonder – just a little bit Zen really!

No doubt everyone wandering through Light Cycles is aware of how fortunate we are to be living virtually COVID free in South Australia. So it was even more alarming that the early part of the session I attended was a logjam of people in long queues ignoring social distancing and not wearing masks. Organisers have to sort this. Let fewer people in per session and monitor the crowd movement to keep people properly spaced. (As I write Illuminate Adelaide management are working on a plan to address this issue.)

But once past the logjam it was possible to enjoy the rest of the circuit wandering at a leisurely pace and let the senses take over; let your eyes, ears and mind explore the colourful darkness as art, light, technology and sound transform the gardens into – yes it’s a cliché – a winter wonderland!