Electric Canvas

Brigette Berkery, Sophie Keen, Kate Shannon & Bridget Whitnall

Artist/ Art Collective • Peter Milne- Projection Designer/ technical

director • Glenn Williams- Chief Technician • Dean Maxwell- Operations and Production

Manager• Jonathan Nix - Artist and Designer• Stephen Paul - Onlyview, PIGI and IT

Technician• Diana Golden- Administration and Logistics

Manager • Eric Guo - Chinese Export Manager,

Accounts administrator

Background• Established 1997• Came together after

all having different experiences

• Worked with Vivid Sydney in 2009

• World wide projectionists Vivid 2009 Opera House- Electric Canvas with

Brian Eno

Interests • “Projections need to be bright and vivid”• Contrast • Working with other artists to create their visions • Expanding their abilities as a group

Style • Bright abstract projections • Patterns, lines • Depends on the project • Fun

The Electric Canvas – Enlighten 2014 | National Portrait Gallery, Canberra

Gender• 6 Male• 1 Female

The Electric Canvas’ Managing Director- Peter Milne | Botanic Gardens 31st Jan 13’

Why do they create the work?• Enjoyment – being paid for doing

something you love • Enhance Individual skills • For clients

Artist: Electric Canvas

Artwork: Macquarie Visions- Designing the Nation

Site: St Mary's Cathedral

Size: The main front of the Cathedral

Material Practise• A very complex process is undertaken in order to

achieve large scale production• High powered digital projectors and PIGI filmstrip

projects are used• Light is applied to sites and surfaces for a variety of

purposes

The Electric Canvas | Vivid 2013

Step 1) understanding the projection site

Step 2) Designing projection images

Step 3)

Conceptual Practise•Designing the Nation commemorated the 200th anniversary and the story of two visionary leaders: Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie•Macquarie was a Governor of NSW•The pair built churches, schools, hospitals and banks around Sydney

• Mr and Mrs Macquarie arrived in Sydney on the 1st January 1810

• The pair ordered the construction of St. Mary’s Cathedral

• This is one of their most significant contributions and why it was chosen to commence the story of the Macquarie’s

• Projections symbolize the natural beauty of the area, the influence of culture, Aboriginal inhabitants, the 2nd chance given to convicts, Catholic beliefs and the Macquarie’s

Portrait of Lachlan Macquarie

•Organic, natural patterns intertwined with leaves and flowers reflect the beauty if the natural landscape•Aboriginal preservation off and respect for the natural landscape

•Reflects Macquarie’s immense contribution•This is includes building: military hospitals, St. Mathew’s Church, orphan schools, charity school houses, bridges, enlarging streets, stone wharves, botanical gardens and government stables

Designing the nation- The Electric Canvas

•The reoccurring light blue, is of high religious significance and often symbolizes purity

•Mary, the mother of Jesus•Nurturing presence of the Cathedral

Audience: General public of Sydney

Purpose:• Educate yet entertain• Bring to life history through the new 21st century

contemporary art approach

The Electric Canvas- Winter Olympics Vancouver 2010

The Electric Canvas- Enlighten Festival, 2011. Howard Moffat/AUSPIC Concept

How does it engage its intended audience?• Purposeful location of the monumental St Mary’s

Cathedral• Though unique original forms of art. • Its openness and free viewings. • Open for different interpretations. • Through physical and sensory interaction (sight and

hearing)

Unfamiliar Customs- The Electric Canvas 11’

World • The artwork is a celebration of Governor Macquarie’s vision for the future of the young penal colony of New South Wales• Governor Macquarie’s influence on the development of our nation from a penal colony to such a prominent position on the world stage is so great that he is referred to as “The Father of Australia”

• The juxtaposition of old and new with the modern medium of digital image projection layered over the classic and prominent Macquarie-influenced architecture of St Mary’s Cathedral, highlights the Governor’s vision

• St Mary’s Cathedral as a building represents cultural and economic progression and compares favorably with similar buildings in other parts of the civilised world

The Electric Canvas | Vivid 2012

• The use of colourful light and images of the digital projection draws the attention of the individual to the magnificence and prominence of the building in the contemporary landscape and busy modern lifestyle

Wonderland- The Electric Canvas | White Night Festival 2014

Questions?Finger paint/ Cadman’s Finger- The Electric Canvas | Vivid 2013