VIVID 2022 : CIRCULAR QUAY

VIVID was a disappointing spectacle at Circular Quay with poor planning and lacklustre displays.  

The complete absence of installations between Sydney Opera House and Customs House meant that there was  a huge crush of people trying to get to First Fleet Park and western Circular Quay. 

Ken Done’s projections on to Customs House were a delight as was  the 3D cube at First Fleet Park.

The displays on the MCA facade and the Sydney Opera House sails were abstract in nature and therefore lacked the visual ingenuity of previous years. 

If you could reach the Overseas Passenger terminal there was an immersive experience to be had and a little further on, on the Dutch spired store rooms, was a charming children’s fairytale. 

For me, after passing a multi lit wooden figure, there was the installation of a multitude of giant spheres lit imaginatively from within. 

Text and photos by Ben Apfelbaum