Adelaide Fringe and Festival events: Sky Song, Skywhales and Cupid Koi Garden, ready for launch this weekend
The Adelaide Festival’s stunning Skywhales air balloon sculptures finally took to the skies above Elder Park this morning, dazzling onlookers who gathered at sunrise.
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The Adelaide Festival’s stunning Skywhales air balloon sculptures finally took to the skies above Elder Park this morning, dazzling onlookers who gathered at sunrise.
After a week’s delay due to windy conditions, the giant, handstitched balloons rose just before dawn as part of the exhibition event called Skywhales: Every Heart Sings.
Created by artist Patricia Piccinini, the Skywhale and her new companion, Skywhalepapa, have toured around Australia but this is the first time they’ve been on display in Adelaide.
Ms Piccinini is in town for the balloon launch, which she described as an “incredible spectacle” which resonated with people.
“We’re very happy it’s finally coming to the festival town,” she said.
A project curated by the National Gallery of Australia, the 25m-high Skywhales were inspired by the “wonder of nature”, she said.
“That’s the impetus. Whales that inhabit the sea actually evolved from hoofed, donkey type creatures,” Ms Piccinini said.
“It's an absolute miracle, and it’s inspiring. It’s amazing that we’re lucky enough to be here and witness all this incredible stuff around us.”
The massive balloons are made of a combined 3.6km of fabric and 3.6 million stitches, and took months to be constructed.
They will stay tethered above Elder Park for a maximum of two hours before being deflated at about 9am.
The Skywhales are just one of several new events which stretch from the hills to the valley – and the skies above – at this year’s Adelaide Festival and Fringe.
Drone spectacular Sky Song opened at Leconfield and Richard Hamilton Wines in McLaren Vale on Friday and will run on weekends until the Fringe ends on March 20.
A collaboration with First Nations artists, Sky Song features hundreds of drones flying in formation above a 60m wide projection screen and lighting effects.
Narrated by singer-songwriter Archie Roach, it has a soundtrack by Indigenous artists including Electric Fields, the Iwiri Choir and Nancy Bates, with storytellers Major Moogy Sumner and Jack Buckskin.
The world’s first oversized inflatable fountain, Cupid’s Koi Garden, launched on Wednesday at Mount Barker as part of the Festival.
The free installation, which features a 5m-high giant fountain and 360-degree tracking technology, is centred around a gigantic cupid and 10 oversized goldfish that squirt visitors with water jets.
Located at Keith Stephenson Park, the installation is supported by food vendors and is open daily 10am-10pm until March 14.
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