There is perhaps no better symbol of the Sydney Festival than Florentijn Hofman’s floating installation piece, Rubber Duck. At five stories high, the whimsical sculpture has been reimagined in different locations across the world, but always in public places, accessible to everyone.
The Sydney Festival is a showcase of cutting-edge artists and performers from around the world. But what makes the Sydney Festival magical is the way it allows each person – from professional to student, from young to old – to access culture in their daily lives.
1. Ferrython
Where: Sydney Harbour
When: 11am, January 26
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Free/Ferrython/
Although Rubber Duck has departed Sydney’s iconic harbour for the Parramatta River, Sydney Habour remains a focal point for the Sydney Festival. On Australia Day, the harbour will be overrun with more conventional vessels participating in Ferrython.
Ferrython presents an excellent opportunity to picnic on the foreshore, while watching the annual ferry race from Circular Quay to Shark Island and back again. It is also a chance to showcase some of Sydney’s most spectacular views to visiting relatives or simply to post obnoxiously perfect photographs on Facebook.
2. Merchants Store, Leandro Erlich
Where: Darling Harbour
When: 9am-9pm daily, January 9-23
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Free/Merchants-Store/
Artist Leandro Erlich is renowned for his ability to play with perspective to create impossible scenes.
In Darling Harbour this January, Erlich will be constructing a 19th-century Sydney building. A building that will allow people to defy gravity.
Erlich’s trick is simple. The building is actually lying face-up on the ground underneath a strategically placed mirror. This mirror reflects visitors as they lie on the façade to create the illusion that they are scaling the walls and hanging upside-down from the windows.
While this might be no more than architectural trickery, there is something appealing about having your perspective skewed – and of course, taking to Instagram to share it.
3. Symphony in the Domain
Where: the Domain, Royal Botanic Garden
When: 8pm, January 26
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Free/Symphony-in-The-Domain/
On January 26, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra will perform Gustav Holst’s orchestral suite, The Planets – with the night sky overhead.
Symphony fans who claim an area for their blankets and picnic baskets will also be treated to dramatic performances by Bell Shakespeare’s John Bell and a fireworks display that promises to be one of the finest in the galaxy.
4. Chance, Christian Boltanski
Where: Carriageworks, Eveleigh
When: 10am-6pm daily, January 10 to March 23
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Free/Chance/
From January 10 to March 23, Carriageworks in Eveleigh will host Christian Boltanski’s installation, Chance.
Combining portraits of newborns on a continuous loop of film suspended on industrial scaffolding and dissected pictures of the elderly, Chance represents Boltanski’s exploration of the role of luck and fate in human life. With digital clocks recording the number of people born and dying at any given moment, Chance is guaranteed to be an interesting, albeit macabre, experience.
5. Sacrilege, Jeremy Deller
Where: Hyde Park North
When: 9am-9pm, Tuesday-Sunday, January 9-26
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2014/Free/Sacrilege/
With a tagline that invites visitors to “bounce on life-size inflatable of Stonehenge”, it is difficult to imagine anyone turning down the invitation to commit sacrilege against an ancient monument.
Through his installation, Sacrilege, Jeremy Deller reimagines Stonehenge as a life-size inflatable bouncing castle. While no one can doubt Deller’s artistic acumen, we have our suspicions that for many, art takes a back seat to fun while bouncing on Sacrilege.
